Senior Congress leader and former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel declared on Sunday that the party will approach the crucial 2027 Punjab Assembly elections under a joint and collective leadership. He stated that all senior leaders in the state unit are potential chief ministerial candidates, with the final decision resting with the party's high command.
Collective Leadership Over a Single Face
Addressing a press conference in Bathinda, flanked by Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and Congress Legislative Party leader Partap Singh Bajwa, Baghel clarified the party's strategy. "They are all our chief ministerial faces," he asserted, referring to the senior leadership. Baghel, who is the All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in charge of Punjab, elaborated that this includes both present and past Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chiefs and Leaders of Opposition.
He highlighted that except for Captain Amarinder Singh's announcement before the 2017 polls and Charanjit Singh Channi's declaration in 2022, the Congress has traditionally contested elections in Punjab with a collective leadership approach. "Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi will make the final decision," Baghel added, emphasizing the greater interest in presenting a united front.
Scathing Attack on AAP's Governance and BJP's Policies
Baghel used the platform to launch a fierce critique of both the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre. He expressed grave concern over the state's deteriorating law and order, citing that nine murders had occurred within the first ten days of the new year.
He also accused the AAP government of pushing Punjab towards bankruptcy, with state debt crossing the Rs four lakh crore mark. Baghel claimed that no new schools, colleges, or hospitals had been added in the last four years, questioning where the state's funds were being directed. "Is this money intended to enrich the leaders in Delhi?" he questioned, alleging that existing health infrastructure was merely rebranded as 'Aam Aadmi Clinics'.
Baghel was in Bathinda for the culmination of the first phase of the Congress's 'MGNREGA Bachao Sangram' campaign. He slammed the BJP-led central government's decision to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), calling it an attempt to undermine the rural economy. He defended MGNREGA as a rights-based law guaranteeing 100 days of work and argued that its abolition strips laborers of a constitutional right.
Challenging the central government's new funding model requiring states to contribute 40% of costs, Baghel asked how cash-strapped states like Punjab could manage. "When they could not provide the ten per cent, as in the case of Punjab, how can they provide 40 per cent?" He alleged the move was designed to divert funds to industrialists, drawing a parallel with the now-repealed farm laws.
Public Response and Political Implications
Baghel stated that the mass outreach program against the MGNREGA abolition had received overwhelming support from the people of Punjab, including affected workers. His comments and the ongoing campaign signal the Congress's strategy to consolidate its rural voter base by championing welfare schemes and attacking the BJP's economic policies.
By projecting a collective leadership model, the party aims to present a united front and manage internal ambitions ahead of the 2027 polls. The sharp focus on Punjab's debt, law and order, and alleged lack of development under AAP sets the stage for the Congress's main lines of attack against the incumbent government in the coming years.
