Punjab Congress leadership changes before polls recall Capt Amarinder, Raja Warring exits
By Ashok Verma
Bathinda (Punjab), October 4, 2026: The latest change in the Punjab Congress leadership has drawn attention to a pattern of leadership upheavals within the party ahead of Assembly elections.
Raja Amarinder Singh Warring has been replaced as Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president just months before the next Assembly elections, following a period of internal differences within the state Congress. The development has brought back comparisons with the removal of former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh in September 2021, around five months before the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections.
Captain Amarinder Singh was removed as Chief Minister in September 2021 amid an intense leadership tussle within the Punjab Congress. The party subsequently appointed Charanjit Singh Channi as Chief Minister ahead of the 2022 polls.
Five years later, the Congress has again changed its state party president ahead of an Assembly election. Pargat Singh, MLA from Jalandhar Cantt and former Indian hockey captain, has now been appointed Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president, replacing Raja Warring.
The timing of the two leadership changes has also attracted attention. Captain Amarinder Singh was removed from the Chief Minister’s post in September 2021, while Warring’s tenure as state Congress president ended in October 2026.
The successive leadership changes have highlighted the challenges faced by the Punjab Congress in managing internal differences and maintaining organisational stability in the run-up to Assembly elections.