NEW DELHI: After a gap of 14 years, the All India Congress Committee recently reconstituted the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee, appointing 12 vice presidents and 26 general secretaries. However, the absence of any Sikh or Punjabi representative in the new team has triggered resentment within sections of the party ahead of the Punjab Assembly polls next year.
Several senior leaders expressed disappointment over the exclusion of the Punjabi community, which, along with Sikhs, accounts for nearly 19 per cent of Delhi’s voters. Party insiders said the decision could adversely affect the Congress’ prospects not only in Punjab but also in the MCD polls scheduled for the end of next year.
Over the years, the influence of the Punjabi and Sikh communities in Delhi politics has gradually declined with the rise of other social groups, including Poorvanchalis, Scheduled Castes and Muslims.
Despite this, five Sikh candidates—three from the BJP and two from the AAP—won in the 2025 Delhi Assembly polls, underlining the community’s continuing electoral significance. Questioning the manner in which the appointments were finalised, senior Congress leader and former Delhi Congress president Anil Chaudhary alleged that the list was prepared without wider consultation within the party.
In a post on X, Chaudhary said, “The main objective of the organisational creation campaign of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and leader Rahul Gandhi was to build a strong organisation through discussions with dedicated workers. However, the Delhi leadership prepared the list in a closed room without consulting senior leaders and imposed it on party workers. This is a conspiracy to push the Congress to the margins in Delhi.”
A senior Punjabi Congress leader, requesting anonymity, said the community had been completely ignored in the organisational restructuring. He pointed out that the BJP had appointed a Sikh Lieutenant Governor in Delhi, inducted two Sikh ministers in the Rekha Gupta Cabinet and appointed another Sikh MLA as chairman of the Trans Yamuna Development Board.
“AAP has also given good representation to the community, but Congress has ignored it at a crucial time when Punjab elections are approaching,” the leader said. He further noted that several senior leaders, including Kiran Walia and Mukesh Sharma, were also left out of the 31-member Political Affairs Committee constituted by the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee.
