CHANDIGARH: Amid a factional feud, Punjab Congress president and Ludhiana MP Amarinder Singh Raja Warring today met Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and handed him his formal resignation. He is also learnt to be travelling to London, triggering speculation in political circles that he was upset with the decision to remove him from the top post in the state.
Warring had headed the state unit of the Congress for about four-and-a-half years, and his resignation comes just four months before the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections. His meeting with Rahul is being seen as significant in the process of deciding the Congress’s next leadership face in the state.
Warring was removed from the post of Punjab Congress chief following feedback submitted by newly appointed general secretary in-charge of Punjab, Sachin Pilot, to the party high command.
Warring suggested that Pilot may have decided that it was time for him to be removed from the post, while stressing that he had no concrete proof of this.
"Given my long journey in politics, I feel that Sachin Pilot must have decided it was time to remove 'Raja' from the post. I don't have concrete proof of this, but perhaps the General Secretary felt that Raja should be removed," Warring said, as reported by ANI.
After meeting Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi today, Warring appeared critical of Pilot.
“The Punjab affairs in-charge must have felt the need to change me. I do not have any proof to substantiate my statement; otherwise, there was no reason as such. From my days in the Indian Youth Congress, I have had a long association with Sachin,” he said.
Warring said he met Rahul Gandhi and formally submitted his resignation as Punjab Congress president, adding that Rahul “gave him a lot of love”. He thanked Rahul for giving him the opportunity to lead the state Congress under difficult circumstances.
He added that Rahul took stock of the situation in Punjab and sought information about the ground realities, what was happening with the AAP government and what should be done going forward.
“I assured him that I am ready to serve the party whenever the party requires me,” he said.
Warring said he met Rahul and shared his honest views on issues concerning Punjab.
“Whatever happens is for the good,” he said.
He said, “This was the information which was sought by him. I shared with him my four-and-a-half years of experience as the Punjab Congress state president, what are the challenges we have, how we have to fight those challenges and where our strengths are. This was the context of the entire discussion.”
He added that he had given his best during his four-and-a-half-year tenure and felt relieved after submitting his resignation to Rahul.
Warring said he had met Sachin Pilot only twice after the latter was assigned charge of Punjab affairs. “First, I went to congratulate him on his birthday, and then when he came to Chandigarh to participate in a protest. Though there is no tradition in the Congress to submit a resignation, I did so because Rahul had appointed me,” he added.
“Reaching the top is an achievement, but nobody can remain at the top forever,” Warring said.
This paves the way for the official announcement of Warring’s replacement.
Sources privy to the developments said Warring’s views are likely to be taken into account while finalising the name of the next state Congress chief. A confidant of Rahul Gandhi, Warring is expected to be compensated with an organisational role.
On Thursday, Warring had changed his bio on social media platforms to “Former PPCC Chief”.
Asked whether he was being offered any additional responsibility, Warring said the party had already given him a lot, as he had been Indian Youth Congress president, a Cabinet minister and, now, PPCC chief for four-and-a-half years.
Before meeting Rahul, Warring and his wife, Amrita Warring, paid obeisance at Gurdwara Bangla Sahib in the national capital.
Sources close to him revealed that Warring was going to London for a family holiday. Though he went incommunicado, the Ludhiana MP was upset as he was asked to make way for a new party chief in Punjab.
Even while talking to the media after meeting Rahul, Warring made a cryptic remark, saying that after working relentlessly for over four years, he deserved “rest”.
Warring had taken charge as Punjab Congress chief after the party’s poor show in the 2022 Assembly election, when the Congress won 18 out of 117 Assembly seats and the AAP swept to power.
(With inputs from ANI)