JAIPUR: Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot met Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at 10 Janpath in New Delhi after being appointed the party’s Punjab in-charge.
Although the meeting was held behind closed doors, party sources said the leaders discussed the Congress’s roadmap and initial strategy for the Punjab Assembly elections, scheduled for 2027.
The All India Congress Committee appointed Pilot as the party’s new Punjab in-charge on September 5, replacing former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel. The organisational change, announced months ahead of the Assembly elections, is being viewed as part of the Congress high command’s efforts to strengthen the state unit and challenge the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
The Congress is the principal opposition party in Punjab, but Pilot’s immediate challenge will be to reconcile differences among its leaders and factions.
Several senior leaders, including Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Leader of the Opposition Pratap Singh Bajwa, command their own political constituencies and spheres of influence.
Differences among senior Punjab Congress leaders have repeatedly surfaced in recent months. Pilot’s appointment is therefore being seen as an attempt by the party leadership to contain internal divisions and present a united organisation ahead of the elections.
Pilot brings extensive organisational experience to the assignment. He served as Rajasthan Congress president from 2014 to 2020, taking charge after the party was reduced to 21 seats in the 2013 Assembly elections. He was appointed the Congress’s Chhattisgarh in-charge after its defeat in the 2023 Assembly elections and worked to reorganise the state unit and mobilise party workers. Sukhdeo Bhagat has now been given charge of Chhattisgarh in his place.
Party leaders view Pilot as a troubleshooter who can engage with rival factions and strengthen the grassroots organisation. Punjab Congress leaders, including Warring and Bajwa, have publicly welcomed his appointment. His ability to bridge differences among the state leadership, particularly between the camps associated with Channi and Warring, will be closely watched.
The assignment also sets up an unusual political contest involving two prominent Rajasthan leaders. The BJP has appointed Rajya Sabha MP and former Rajasthan BJP president Satish Poonia as its Punjab in-charge. With Pilot overseeing the Congress’s strategy and Poonia working to strengthen the BJP organisation, two Rajasthan leaders will play important roles in shaping their respective parties’ campaigns in Punjab.
While Pilot’s principal task will be to unite the faction-ridden Congress unit, Poonia faces the challenge of expanding the BJP’s limited organisational and electoral footprint in the state.
The Congress high command is banking on Pilot’s experience of rebuilding the party at the grassroots in Rajasthan to help it navigate Punjab’s complex political landscape and mount a cohesive challenge to the AAP government in 2027.