The Congress has carried out a major organisational reshuffle ahead of key Assembly elections, appointing Sukhdeo Bhagat as the party's new general secretary in charge of Chhattisgarh. The move comes with significant changes in Punjab, where Sachin Pilot has replaced Bhupesh Baghel as the AICC general secretary in charge, while Baghel has been shifted to Assam.

The changes were announced by AICC General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal on Saturday and took effect immediately. The reshuffle comes at a politically important time for the Congress, particularly in Punjab, where the party has been dealing with internal differences ahead of the 2027 Assembly election. 

Sukhdeo Bhagat takes charge in Chhattisgarh

Bhagat's appointment brings a new central leadership face to the Congress organisation in Chhattisgarh. He replaces Sachin Pilot, who had been handling the state before being moved to Punjab.

Bhagat is a Congress Lok Sabha MP from Lohardaga, Jharkhand. His political career includes a stint as Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee president and several terms in the state Assembly. He had also briefly joined the BJP before returning to the Congress.

His appointment comes as the Chhattisgarh Congress seeks to strengthen its organisation and improve coordination between its state leadership, senior leaders and grassroots workers.

The immediate focus for Bhagat is likely to include assessing the organisation at the district and booth levels and coordinating the party's political preparations in the state.

Pilot gets Punjab responsibility

Sachin Pilot has now been given charge of Punjab, replacing Bhupesh Baghel.

The decision assumes significance because Punjab Congress has been facing internal differences over the party's organisational leadership. The dispute intensified after the Congress retained Amrinder Singh Raja Warring as Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president, while former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi was given the role of campaign committee chairman.

According to recent reports, leaders associated with the Channi camp had questioned the continuation of the existing leadership arrangement and pressed the high command for changes. Rival slogans and disruptions at party programmes had also exposed the divisions within the state unit. 

Bhupesh Baghel shifted to Assam

Baghel, who had been responsible for Punjab since February 2025, has now been appointed AICC general secretary in charge of Assam.

The official Congress announcement confirms the reassignment. The party's current list of general secretaries also shows Baghel as the in-charge of Assam. 

The move comes after a period in which Baghel was tasked with bringing together competing factions in Punjab. Reports have linked his replacement to the continuing organisational dispute, although the Congress has not officially described the change as a response to pressure from any particular faction.

Punjab factionalism behind the reshuffle

The leadership change follows weeks of open disagreement within the Punjab Congress.

The dispute became increasingly visible during the party's organisational campaign in July and August, when rival groups reportedly raised slogans and protested against the existing leadership. The issue was also discussed during meetings between the Congress high command and Punjab leaders in Delhi.

India Today reported that leaders from the Channi camp had pressed for changes after Warring was retained as state Congress president. The leadership subsequently brought Pilot into the state ahead of the 2027 Assembly election. 

The Congress now faces the task of rebuilding coordination between the rival camps while preparing for the election.

Pilot faces immediate organisational challenge

Pilot's first major challenge will be to manage the competing political interests within the Punjab unit and establish greater coordination among senior leaders.

The Congress's 2022 Punjab Assembly election defeat remains an important backdrop to the current organisational exercise. With the next election approaching, the party will also have to address candidate selection, campaign coordination and grassroots mobilisation.

The reshuffle therefore represents more than a routine change of state in-charges. For the Congress, Punjab is a politically sensitive state where organisational unity could directly affect its electoral prospects.

What the change means for Chhattisgarh

For Chhattisgarh, the appointment of Bhagat marks a change in the party's central leadership at a time when the state unit is looking to strengthen its organisation.

Bhagat will have to work with the existing state leadership while assessing internal coordination and the party's ground-level preparedness. His experience in Jharkhand politics and within the Congress organisation could become important as the party seeks to consolidate its base.

The reshuffle also signals that the Congress high command is relying on changes in state-level leadership to prepare its organisation for upcoming electoral challenges.

Along with the Chhattisgarh, Punjab and Assam changes, the Congress appointed Randeep Singh Surjewala as Gujarat in-charge, while he will continue handling Karnataka. Dr Sirivella Prasad has been assigned Maharashtra and P V Mohan Andhra Pradesh. 

The immediate test for the new appointments will be whether the reshuffle can translate into stronger organisational coordination and a more unified election strategy on the ground.

The dispute centres on the Congress high command's July 1 decision to retain Amarinder Singh Raja Warring as Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections. As part of the same organisational reshuffle, former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi was named chairman of the party's Campaign Committee, while Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa was given charge of the Election Management Committee — an arrangement designed to spread responsibility across the party's senior leaders and ensure representation across Jat Sikh, Dalit Sikh and Hindu community lines within the state unit.

The reshuffle didn't land as intended. Channi, widely believed to have wanted the state unit's top job for himself, has been joined by Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa — a past rival now aligned with him against Warring — in openly opposing the decision. A meeting meant to resolve the standoff, hosted by senior MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh at his Chandigarh residence on July 11, drew over 90 party leaders, a notably larger turnout than the roughly 60 who'd gathered at Channi's residence right after the original announcement. Nearly every senior Punjab Congress leader not aligned with Warring attended, including Bajwa himself, despite his historically frosty relations with both Channi and Randhawa.

Congress's Punjab in-charge Bhupesh Baghel, who has faced accusations from Randhawa and others of favouring Warring over the party's broader interests, held the meeting expecting a possible breakthrough. Instead, Randhawa emerged afterward to declare that the party doesn't need "compromised leaders," with Channi standing beside him as he said it — a clear signal the talks had failed. Notably, neither Channi nor Randhawa nor even the usually conciliatory Bajwa joined Baghel when he addressed reporters afterward, itself read as a sign of how badly the meeting had gone.

Sources say the Channi camp's demand goes beyond simply removing Warring as party chief — they also want him excluded entirely from candidate selection for next year's Assembly polls. Baghel rejected that specific demand outright, but said he would relay the group's broader concerns to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and organisational general secretary KC Venugopal. Baghel has separately insisted publicly that the high command's original decision "will not be reconsidered" under pressure, dismissing the standoff as something too serious to be treated like a "gudda-guddi ka khel" — a Hindi idiom for child's play, roughly translating to a mock doll's wedding.

With no resolution reached, the matter now sits with the central leadership. Bajwa, for his part, has urged all factions to keep their eyes on the bigger contest, arguing that no individual leader's ambition should outweigh the party's or the state's interests — a message so far more aspirational than descriptive of where Punjab Congress actually stands heading into election season.

The high-level meeting was held in Chandigarh as part of the party's efforts to address growing dissatisfaction among a section of Punjab Congress leaders. Channi, accompanied by several supporters, met Baghel, who is the party's Punjab in-charge, to discuss organisational issues and concerns over the state leadership. However, the discussions ended without any immediate resolution.

According to party sources, the Channi camp once again argued that replacing Raja Warring was essential to strengthen the Congress before the next Assembly election. The dissenting leaders reportedly maintained that a change in leadership would help the party present a united front against the ruling Aam Aadmi Party and the BJP.

Baghel, however, sought to downplay speculation of a major organisational shake-up. Speaking after the meeting, he said there was no infighting within the Punjab Congress and insisted that discussions among party leaders should not be viewed as signs of division. He also indicated that any decision regarding the state leadership rests with the Congress high command and not with individual leaders or factions.

The latest round of talks comes days after the Congress announced its organisational structure for the Punjab Assembly elections. The party retained Amarinder Singh Raja Warring as the Punjab Congress president while appointing Charanjit Singh Channi as chairman of the campaign committee. The appointments were intended to balance responsibilities among senior leaders, but they also triggered fresh discontent within a section of the state unit.

During the meeting, leaders from the Channi camp are understood to have raised concerns over the functioning of the state organisation and reiterated their objections to Warring's continuation as PPCC chief. Senior Congress leader Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, who has also expressed reservations over the present leadership arrangement, reportedly attended the discussions and backed the demand for organisational changes.

Despite the sharp differences, Baghel expressed confidence that the party would remain united. He assured the leaders that their concerns would be conveyed to the Congress high command and stressed that the focus should remain on strengthening the organisation ahead of the electoral battle in Punjab.

The disagreement has drawn attention because Punjab is expected to be one of the Congress' key political battlegrounds in the 2027 Assembly election. While the party hopes to regain power after its defeat in 2022, persistent factionalism has emerged as a challenge to its preparations. Political observers believe the Congress leadership will have to strike a balance between accommodating influential regional leaders and maintaining organisational stability before the election campaign gathers momentum.

For now, there is no indication that the Congress high command is considering an immediate leadership change in Punjab. With both sides holding firm to their positions, the internal discussions are expected to continue in the coming weeks as the party works to project unity before entering the next phase of election preparations.

Speaking during his visit to Chandigarh, Baghel rejected claims that the Punjab Congress was divided into rival groups. He maintained that leaders across the organisation were working together with the common objective of strengthening the party and preparing for upcoming political battles.

The statement assumes significance as reports of differences between Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi have dominated political discussions in recent weeks. While the party has not officially acknowledged any rift, repeated speculation has fuelled questions over its internal cohesion.

During his visit, Baghel also met several MLAs considered close to Channi. According to political sources, the meetings were part of an effort to improve coordination within the state unit and bridge perceived differences between senior leaders. Party insiders indicated that the leadership is keen to project a united front as organisational activities gather pace.

Baghel, however, insisted that there was no factionalism in the Punjab Congress and dismissed reports suggesting otherwise. He said the focus remained on organisational strengthening rather than internal disputes, signalling that the leadership does not want political messaging to be overshadowed by speculation over camp politics.

The meetings come at a politically sensitive time for the Congress in Punjab. After losing power in the 2022 Assembly elections, the party has been attempting to rebuild its grassroots organisation while positioning itself as a principal challenger to the ruling Aam Aadmi Party and the BJP in the state.

Senior Congress leaders have repeatedly stressed the need for collective leadership and stronger coordination at the district level. The latest outreach by the party's state in-charge is being viewed as part of that broader organisational exercise.

Political observers note that leadership consultations with MLAs and district leaders have become more frequent in recent months as the Congress seeks to avoid public disagreements that could weaken its electoral prospects. Meetings involving different groups within the party are often seen as efforts to maintain communication and organisational balance.

Although reports of internal differences continue to surface, the Congress leadership has consistently maintained that discussions among leaders are a normal part of party functioning and should not be interpreted as signs of division.

Baghel's assertion of unity is expected to reassure party workers, particularly at a time when the Congress is trying to consolidate its organisational structure across Punjab. Whether these efforts succeed in ending speculation over internal rivalries will likely become clearer in the coming weeks as the party intensifies its political outreach.

For now, the official position remains unchanged: the Punjab Congress leadership says it is united, focused on strengthening the organisation and preparing collectively for future electoral challenges.

The latest organisational decisions come at a crucial time for the Congress as it prepares for future electoral battles in Punjab, a state where factional rivalries have repeatedly affected the party's performance. Party leaders have publicly projected the changes as a sign of unity, but political observers are closely watching how the new arrangement functions on the ground.

Raja Warring will continue to lead the Punjab Congress organisation, a position he has held during a challenging period marked by electoral setbacks and efforts to rebuild the party's grassroots network. By retaining him, the Congress high command appears to have signalled confidence in his ability to manage the organisation and maintain continuity within the state unit.

At the same time, Charanjit Singh Channi has been entrusted with a prominent campaign-related responsibility. The decision gives the former chief minister a significant role in shaping the party’s outreach strategy and election messaging, ensuring that he remains one of the key faces of the Congress in Punjab.

The arrangement is being viewed by many within political circles as an attempt to accommodate multiple power centres within the state unit. Punjab Congress has witnessed leadership disputes and competing factions over the years, with disagreements often becoming public and impacting the party's image.

Congress leaders have maintained that the latest structure is aimed at strengthening the organisation rather than reflecting any internal compromise. According to party insiders, the leadership wants to utilise the strengths of both leaders—Warring's organisational experience and Channi's mass appeal among voters.

The decision also reflects lessons learned from previous episodes in Punjab politics. In the past, leadership tussles involving senior Congress figures often escalated into prolonged conflicts, creating uncertainty ahead of important elections. The party appears keen to avoid a repeat of those situations by distributing responsibilities among influential leaders.

Political analysts note that while the move may help maintain short-term stability, its success will ultimately depend on cooperation between various factions. If leaders work together effectively, the Congress could present a more united front against its political rivals. However, any signs of renewed rivalry could quickly revive questions about internal cohesion.

The development is significant because Punjab remains one of the few states where Congress continues to have a substantial political base despite recent electoral challenges. Strengthening the state unit is seen as critical for the party’s broader national strategy.

Meanwhile, reactions from party workers have been mixed. Some view the arrangement as a practical solution that recognises the contributions of both leaders. Others believe it may lead to overlapping authority unless responsibilities are clearly defined.

For now, the Congress leadership has sought to send a message of unity and collective responsibility. Whether the latest formula ends factional tensions or simply postpones them is likely to become clearer as the party begins preparations for upcoming elections and campaign activities across Punjab.

The coming months are expected to provide a clearer picture of how the new leadership structure functions and whether it succeeds in consolidating the Congress organisation in the state.