Days after stepping down as Punjab Congress president, Amrinder Singh Raja Warring on Sunday said that even if he had “lost or fallen” or AICC’s Punjab in-charge Sachin Pilot denied him a ticket for next year’s Assembly elections, he would continue to uphold the Congress flag as a soldier of Rahul Gandhi.
The Ludhiana MP acknowledged that several party leaders had opposed him during his tenure as state Congress chief and might continue to do so, in remarks seen as a veiled message to his detractors in the state unit.
Warring, however, said he will fully support new Punjab Congress chief Pargat Singh, who on Sunday took charge of his new post at a ceremony held at the Congress Bhavan that was attended by Pilot, among others.
Ahead of the ceremony, Warring held a gathering at a rented house in Sector 10, close to the party headquarters in Sector 15, where Congress leaders Brahm Mohindra, Rana K P Singh, Surinder Dawar, Anil Joshi, Simarjit Singh Bains, Hardyal Kamboj, Malvika Sood and his supporters were present.
The gathering was seen as a show of strength by Warring.
Warring quit as the Punjab Congress chief on October 1, after the Congress high command decided on a leadership change ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
Amid an intense race for the top organisational post, with former Sangrur MP Vijay Inder Singla seen as a frontrunner, the party named ex-India hockey captain and three-time Jalandhar Cantt MLA Pargat Singh (61) as the new state unit chief the next day.
The move followed weeks of internal unrest over the state leadership that threatened to hurt the party's campaign for the Assembly elections due early next year.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Warring said the Congress is united in its quest to form the next government in Punjab.
“There is no other objective. Raja Warring may have lost and fallen, but my job is to keep holding the party flag high,” Warring said.
Later during his address at the Congress Bhavan with Pilot in attendance, Warring stressed that he was a soldier of Rahul Gandhi.
“No doubt many people opposed Raja Warring, and they may continue to do so. But I am not opposing anyone,” he said.
Hinting at his resignation, Warring said Pilot was here and “I myself had said I have lost”. “I only consider Rahul Gandhi as my leader,” he said, adding that the Congress gave a lot to him.
“If I say that I would remain the president and only what I say should be heard, it won’t be right,” Warring said.
In an apparent dig at Pilot, Warring said, “Pilot Saab may cut my ticket next time. But I will continue to remain a soldier of Rahul Gandhi and will always be with the Congress.”
After the party decided to replace him on October 2, Warring had said he came to know that Pilot wanted him replaced, but he “voluntarily” relinquished his charge.
On Sunday, Warring said he would continue to support whoever the party makes the president.
Referring to his recent meeting with Rahul Gandhi, Warring said he urged the senior party leader to allot more than 50 per cent tickets to the youth fighting the party’s battle.
Before the ceremony, Warring said, “I had maintained that whosoever becomes the (Punjab Congress) president, I would be with him. Be it Pargat Singh or Charanjit Singh Channi.”
However, he added that Channi did not want to go along with him.
Warring was replaced as the Punjab Congress chief weeks after Pilot took charge as the general secretary in charge of Punjab.
A section of leaders led by Channi had opposed a move to retain Warring as the state unit president and sought his removal from the post.
(With Inputs from PTI)
