In a significant announcement, the Indian National Congress declared on Sunday that it will contest the crucial 2027 Punjab Legislative Assembly elections under a model of collective leadership, deliberately avoiding the projection of any single individual as its chief ministerial face. The statement was made by Bhupesh Baghel, the party's in-charge for Punjab affairs, during a media interaction in Bathinda.
No Single Face, A United Front
Bhupesh Baghel, a former Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, emphasized that the entire state leadership would spearhead the election campaign. This includes the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, the Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, Members of Parliament, and other senior figures. He clarified that while the party once contested principally in the name of Captain Amarinder Singh, its standard approach is to fight elections in the name of a united team.
When pressed by journalists about potential candidates for the top post, Baghel redirected the focus to the national leadership, stating that Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge are the party's national faces. This move is seen as an attempt to quell internal speculation and present a cohesive front, especially after remarks by Navjot Singh Sidhu's wife, Navjot Kaur, about the financial implications of aspiring for the chief minister's chair.
Scathing Attack on BJP's MGNREGA Overhaul
Accompanied by a cadre of senior leaders including Warring, Bajwa, Ravindra Dalvi, and district president Rajan Garg, Baghel launched a fierce critique of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government's policies. He specifically targeted the recent changes to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
Baghel accused the Centre of "snatching the soul" of the demand-driven welfare scheme, which was designed to provide economic solace to the poor. He argued that the new conditions, including requiring state governments to contribute a 40% share, effectively put the scheme on the back burner and deprive laborers of their rights to benefit a select few.
Turning his fire on the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab, Baghel alleged gross underutilization of MGNREGA, claiming that an average of only 28 days of work was provided in the state against the guaranteed 100 days.
Critique of AAP's Governance and Law & Order
The Congress leadership did not spare the Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab government on issues of governance and finance. Baghel raised serious concerns over law and order, stating that nine murders have been recorded in the state in the year 2026 so far.
He further accused the AAP government of failing to deliver on development while indulging in expensive advertising campaigns. "No new school or medical college has been opened in the last four years," Baghel claimed, "but only claims made in advertisements by spending crores of taxpayers' money."
Highlighting the state's fiscal health, he pointed to Punjab's debt, which he stated exceeds Rs 4 lakh crore, and questioned the rationale behind raising more loans. "This government needs to tell where the money is going, whether it is going to Delhi," Baghel remarked, insinuating a financial drain to the AAP's central leadership.
The day concluded with a public rally in Bhucho. Prior to the announcements, in a symbolic gesture, Baghel, along with Warring and Barnala MLA Kuldeep Singh Dhillon, visited the home of an MGNREGA worker in Khuddi village, Barnala, on Saturday evening. They shared a meal and listened to the grievances of the workers, underscoring the party's outreach efforts across the state.
