Chandigarh: Amarinder Singh Raja Warring has stepped down as president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, ending his more than four year tenure at the helm of the state unit as the Congress prepares for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections.
Warring travelled to Delhi and personally submitted his resignation to Rahul Gandhi, who had appointed him Punjab Congress chief in April 2022. Speaking after the meeting, Warring said the decision was his and stressed that he had not been forced to quit. He also said that he had discussed the political situation in Punjab and the challenges facing the party ahead of the next Assembly election.
“Nobody can remain at the top forever,” Warring said while reflecting on his exit. He added that he had accepted the change as part of political life and would continue to work for the Congress.
The resignation follows months of internal differences within the Punjab Congress. The leadership struggle intensified after the party retained Warring as state chief in July but appointed former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi as chairman of its campaign committee in an attempt to balance competing factions. Reports of disagreements among senior leaders continued despite the arrangement.
The latest organisational move also followed a review by Congress general secretary in-charge Sachin Pilot. After taking charge of Punjab affairs in September, Pilot held meetings with state leaders, MPs and different groups within the party before submitting his assessment to the central leadership. Party sources said the exercise contributed to the decision to change the state leadership.
Warring took over the Punjab Congress after the party’s poor showing in the 2022 Assembly election. During his tenure, he led the state unit through the 2024 Lok Sabha election, when Congress won seven of Punjab’s 13 parliamentary seats. Warring himself won the Ludhiana constituency.
Attention has now shifted to his successor. Former minister and exMP Vijay Inder Singla is being widely reported as a leading contender, while Jalandhar Cantonment MLA Pargat Singh and Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa have also been mentioned among the names under consideration. Congress had not formally announced the new state president as of October 2.
With Punjab expected to vote in early 2027, the leadership change marks a significant organisational transition for the Congress as it seeks to settle its internal differences and prepare its state machinery for the electoral contest.
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