A district Congress programme in Patiala witnessed noisy scenes on Saturday after supporters of former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi raised slogans in his favour while state Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring was addressing party workers.
Slogans were raised in the presence of Congress general secretary in-charge for Punjab, Bhupesh Baghel, who on Friday dismissed any factionalism in the party's state unit.
Several other senior leaders, including MP Amar Singh and Brahm Mohindra, were present at the party's 'Har Booth, Congress Mazboot' programme.
Soon after Warring began his speech, Channi's supporters started raising slogans such as 'Charanjit Singh Channi Zindabad', 'Channi Teri Soch Te Pehra Deyange Thok Ke' and 'Channi Liyao, Punjab Bachao', briefly disrupting the proceedings.
Warring repeatedly appealed to the workers to maintain discipline and allow the meeting to continue.
But despite his requests, slogan shouting continued for some time before the programme could resume.
Senior leaders, including Baghel, were seen observing the developments, while other leaders tried to pacify the workers.
The incident follows continuing factionalism within the state Congress, despite repeated assertions by the party leadership that efforts are underway to strengthen organisational unity ahead of the 2027 Punjab elections.
A group of workers from Samana said the Congress currently enjoys favourable public support in Punjab but cautioned that ignoring the wishes of party workers while taking organisational decisions could prove costly.
Sanjeev Kumar, a party worker from Nabha, said the Congress should avoid further "experiments" in Punjab, claiming that similar decisions in the past had adversely affected the party's electoral prospects.
Another party worker, Dayal Singh from Rajpura, said the high command should assess the mood of the Congress workers and either project Channi as the chief ministerial face or entrust the state unit's leadership to an experienced leader.
In Fatehgarh Sahib on Friday, Baghel had dismissed any factionalism in the party's state unit, claiming that the media and a few individuals were creating a perception of infighting.
The murmurs of discontent began doing the rounds after the Congress decided to retain Warring as its Punjab unit president, and appointed Jalandhar MP Channi the chairperson of its campaign committee.
Baghel is currently on a tour of the poll-bound state, where he will visit several assembly constituencies and hold meetings with the party's district and block-level leaders.
On Friday, he launched the 'Har Booth, Congress Mazboot' campaign during his visits to Fatehgarh Sahib and Mohali.
