Kumar Bahukhandi
Congress leaders Sachin Pilot (left) and Bhupesh Baghel during an earlier political programme. The Congress has appointed Pilot as its new AICC General Secretary in-charge of Punjab, replacing Baghel, who has been reassigned as the party’s General Secretary in-charge of Assam. (File Photo)
Congress entrusts former Rajasthan Deputy CM with a politically sensitive assignment ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly election; Baghel shifted to Assam
Chandigarh: The Congress has made a significant organisational intervention in Punjab, appointing senior leader Sachin Pilot as AICC General Secretary in-charge of the state in place of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, as the party attempts to contain persistent factionalism ahead of next year’s Assembly election.
Baghel has not been dropped from organisational responsibilities altogether. He has been reassigned as the Congress General Secretary in-charge of Assam, while Pilot moves from his previous responsibility in Chhattisgarh to take charge of Punjab. The appointments were announced on Saturday and came into effect immediately.
The change places Pilot at the centre of one of the Congress party’s more difficult state-level political challenges. Punjab goes to the polls in 2027, and the party is seeking to regain power while simultaneously dealing with differences among its own senior leaders.
Channi-Warring Differences at Heart of Punjab Challenge
The immediate problem before Pilot is the continuing friction involving the camps associated with Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi.
The tensions intensified after the Congress leadership announced on July 1 that Warring would continue as Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president while Channi would head the party’s campaign committee. The arrangement failed to end competing claims within the state organisation and instead became another point of contention between rival groups.
Baghel had been appointed Punjab in-charge in February 2025 with the task of bringing senior leaders together and strengthening the organisation. However, factional tensions persisted during his tenure, eventually putting the central leadership under pressure to intervene.
The decision to bring in Pilot came shortly after the Congress high command discussed the situation with Punjab leaders in Delhi. Reports indicate that further organisational changes in the Punjab unit remain under consideration.
A Bigger Test for Pilot
For Pilot, the Punjab assignment carries significance beyond routine organisational responsibility. A former Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister and former Union minister, he has increasingly been entrusted with responsibilities outside his home state.
His success in Punjab will be measured not merely by organisational meetings or campaign planning, but by whether he can persuade competing leaders to work under a common electoral strategy.
The Congress cannot afford to enter the Assembly campaign consumed by an internal leadership contest. Pilot will have to balance established leaders, maintain communication with the central leadership and ensure that factional differences do not overshadow the party’s campaign against its political opponents.
The appointment therefore represents both an elevation and a test for Pilot: Punjab gives him a larger political stage, but also hands him responsibility for a state unit where maintaining internal equilibrium has proved difficult.
Baghel Moves to Assam
The reshuffle should not, however, be read simply as Baghel being pushed out of the Congress organisation. The former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister has instead been assigned responsibility for Assam, another state of considerable political importance for the party.
What has clearly changed is the Congress high command’s choice of troubleshooter for Punjab.
With the Assembly election approaching, Pilot now has limited time to convert organisational reconciliation into electoral preparedness. Whether the leadership change succeeds will depend on something no appointment order alone can guarantee — whether Punjab Congress leaders are prepared to put their internal rivalries behind them.
