Sachin Pilot In. Bhupesh Baghel Out. Why Punjab Congress Change Was Imminent

The Congress' central leadership appointed Sachin Pilot as the organisation in-charge for Punjab on Saturday night, replacing Bhupesh Baghel, in a move apparently aimed at calming some of the friction in the state unit.

It came as part of a major reshuffle, and Baghel, a former chief minister of Chhattisgarh, got charge of Assam instead.

Establishing a semblance of unity within the publicly fractured Punjab Congress will be the primary task for Pilot, a former deputy CM of Rajasthan. The crucial responsibility also happens to underscore Pilot's stature within the party, but with a caveat for him in his home state, about six years after his failed rebellion aimed at Rajasthan's CMship.

Also Read: Two Rajasthan Leaders To Face Off In Punjab

Son of the late Congress stalwart Rajesh Pilot, Sachin has previously served as a minister in Manmohan Singh's central government, been Rajasthan Congress president, and deputy CM. He was appointed a national general secretary of the party and given charge of Chhattisgarh in December 2023.

It was widely speculated that he would be handed the reins of the Rajasthan unit afresh ahead of the assembly elections due in 2028. Now, with the addition of the Punjab responsibility ahead of polls due there in early 2027, the wait for his return to Rajasthan politics also gets prolonged, though there are still two years to elections in that state.

The Punjab task is cut out. A group of senior state leaders, led by former CM Charanjit Singh Channi, has been seeking the removal of Amarinder Singh Raja Warring from the post of state unit president.

After extensive deliberations, the Congress high command announced on July 1 that Raja would continue, while Channi was entrusted with leading the campaign committee. This failed to satisfy Channi, nor did it appease the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party in Punjab, Partap Singh Bajwa. MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and former MP Vijay Inder Singla, who was appointed head of the election management committee, were not on board with Warring either.

Bhupesh Baghel was not only unable to bring these leaders together, but appeared to side with Warring. The faction opposed to Warring continued to demand a leadership change in Punjab. At one point, posters came up in some parts of Punjab against Baghel too.

Baghel had been appointed Punjab Congress in-charge in February 2025. He favoured retaining Raja Warring and opposed a leadership change before the elections, which made him a target for detractors as he failed to maintain neutrality.

Against this backdrop, the Congress high command has initiated efforts to placate leaders opposed to Raja Warring.

All of them - Raja Warring, Channi, and Randhawa, among others - hailed the announcement appointing Pilot as the party's Punjab in-charge.

"Heartfelt thanks to the Congress Party High Command for this important decision," Channi wrote on X. Warring posted to welcome Pilot and also thanked Baghel for guidance. Others made customary welcome posts too.

However, the crucial question is whether this change in leadership will cause Channi to drop his demand for replacing the state party president.

Rahul Gandhi is set to undertake a bus tour across Punjab with all the leaders soon; this will serve as the first real test for Sachin Pilot.

The Congress faces a challenge from the Aam Aadmi Party government led by Bhagwant Mann. A potential alliance between the BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal is poised to turn the contest into at least a three-way battle, if not even more complicated if the pact does not happen, plus regional players like the relatively hardline Akali Dal faction of jailed MP Amritpal Singh.