The factional feud in the Punjab Congress marred the party’s key grassroots outreach event for the third straight day on Monday as supporters of Jalandhar MP and former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi raised slogans in his favour.Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring addressing party workers in Bathinda on Monday. (HT photo)As state Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring began addressing the gathering, during the party’s ongoing ‘Har Booth, Congress Mazboot’ campaign, on the outskirts of the city, pro-Channi loyalists started shouting slogans in the presence of All India Congress Committee (AICC) Punjab in-charge Bhupesh Baghel, and demanded that the Congress central leadership project Channi as the party’s chief ministerial candidate for the high-stakes 2027 assembly polls.As the sloganeering continued, Warring, in a dramatic move, invited one of the protesters onto the stage, handed him a microphone to state his demands, and asked him to place a telephone call to Channi to explain the ongoing indiscipline. The supporter attempted to call the Channi twice, but the calls went unanswered. Shortly thereafter, the group of dissenters walked out of the venue.The party kicked off the grassroots mobilisation drive from Fatehgarh Sahib on July 31. The chaos in Bathinda follows similar factional protests across Patiala, Sangrur, and Barnala, as the Congress leadership attempts to present a united front ahead of the state elections. The murmurs of discontent began after July 1 when the Congress decided to retain Warring as its Punjab unit president, and appointed Channi the chairperson of its campaign committee. A section of leaders led by Channi and Randhawa opposed the move to retain Warring as the Punjab Congress president and sought his removal from the position. The high command has rallied behind Warring.Hitting out at those behind the demonstration, Warring said he would not resign and would ensure that the ‘black sheep’ within the party do not get tickets in the forthcoming state elections.“I am following my leader Rahul Gandhi’s directions to groom young leaders working relentlessly on the Congress vision. A handful of moneybag party leaders are using the name of Channi to create a ruckus... these black sheep will not get Congress tickets,” said Warring.Warring said leaders who had repeatedly defected between the Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) were attempting to hijack the party’s agenda. Senior district Congress leaders, including former three-time legislator Gurpreet Singh Kangar and four-time MLA Jeet Mohinder Singh Sidhu, notably abstained from attending the event.Warring handpicked by Rahul: BaghelLater in the day, Baghel, at a party gathering in Muktsar, threw his weight behind Warring, emphasising that the state chief retains the full backing of the Congress high command.“Warring was handpicked by Rahul to lead the Congress in Punjab due to his commitment and the party’s ideology. He has performed well and needs support from the grassroots workers to defeat the Aam Aadmi Party government,” he said.The Congress leadership also played a video of Rahul’s earlier speech where he cautioned the party workers to identify the BJP sympathisers from the ranks and files and sideline them completely. Baghel alleged that stooges of the anti-Congress elements pasted banners and posters portraying him as an anti-Indian figure. “The party’s drive to prepare for the elections was suddenly marred by attempts at disruption in Patiala, Sangrur, Mansa, Patiala and Bathinda. However, agents of the Aam Aadmi Party knew they could not enter the premises in Muktsar, so they resorted to putting up posters and banners against Warring and me. I have asked the district police administration to identify unscrupulous elements and nab them,” said Baghel.