Chandigarh, July 2 -- Ending weeks of speculation over a possible leadership overhaul in the Punjab unit, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) on Wednesday opted for continuity by retaining Amarinder Singh Raja Warring as president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) and Partap Singh Bajwa as the leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP). At the same time, the party announced a new organisational structure by constituting key election-related committees for the 2027 Punjab assembly elections. According to a statement of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), the party named three working presidents, besides making appointments in the campaign committee, election management and coordination committee, core committee and manifesto committee. The Congress enters the 2027 electoral battle seeking to recover from its worst-ever performance in the 2022 state assembly elections when it was reduced to just 18 seats in the 117-member assembly with a vote share of 22.98% , while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) swept to power by winning 92 seats. The setback came in sharp contrast to the 2017 assembly elections, when the party secured a decisive mandate by winning 77 seats and ending the decade-long Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP government, while restricting the AAP to just 20 seats. The new appointments in the state Congress represent different castes and regions. Former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, a Dalit, has been appointed chairman of the campaign committee, placing him at the forefront of the party's election outreach and mass mobilisation efforts. Senior leader Vijay Inder Singla, a Hindu face, will head the election management and coordination committee, while former deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa has been named chairman of the core committee. Dr Amar Singh will lead the manifesto committee, which will be responsible for preparing the party's vision document for the 2027 assembly elections. The development comes days after leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge held one-on-one meetings with five senior Punjab Congress leaders amid speculation about changes in the organisational structure ahead of the crucial assembly polls. To strengthen the organisational structure further, the AICC also appointed three working presidents for the Punjab Congress - Sukhwinder Singh Danny, Raj Kumar Verka and Sangat Singh Gilzian - who will assist Raja Warring in organisational affairs across the state. The party also announced co-chairpersons for the campaign, election management and manifesto committees. These include senior leaders Sukhpal Singh Khaira, Rana Gurjeet Singh, Dharamvira Gandhi, PP Soni, Razia Sultana, Kuljit Singh Nagra, Angad Singh Saini, Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Pargat Singh, Hardial Singh Kamboj and Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria, reflecting an attempt to accommodate leaders from different factions and regions within the state unit. The appointments follow an extensive organisational review conducted by a committee headed by senior Congress leader Ajay Maken. The panel held consultations with MLAs, MPs and senior party functionaries amid growing demands for a leadership change in Punjab. "Despite intense lobbying by rival factions for a leadership reshuffle, the Congress high command has chosen continuity over change, indicating that it wants to avoid internal turbulence ahead of the assembly elections while accommodating key leaders through strategic organisational roles," a senior Congress leader said. The leader further indicated that the party would not project any individual as its chief ministerial face before the elections. "No one will be projected as the chief ministerial candidate. The Congress will contest the elections under a collective leadership model," the leader added. The new arrangement is widely seen as an attempt to strike a balance among various factions within the Punjab Congress. While Raja Warring and Bajwa have been retained in their existing positions, Channi has been entrusted with a crucial campaign responsibility, and several leaders from different camps have been accommodated in key organisational committees. The inclusion of representatives from different regions and communities is also viewed as an effort to broaden the party's electoral outreach without disturbing the existing power structure. The committees are expected to formulate the Congress' election strategy as it prepares to take on the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the 2027 assembly elections and attempt a political comeback in Punjab. However, not everyone within the party appears convinced by the delayed decision. "If there was to be no leadership change, the decision could have been taken much earlier. Why did the high command allow factionalism to grow when the entire Congress was divided into different groups, with some demanding a change in leadership and others projecting different leaders for key roles in the PPCC? This lack of clarity will hurt the Congress, especially when the AAP has already made it clear that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will remain its chief ministerial face," said a Congress MLA on the condition of anonymity. A party functionary said Rahul Gandhi strongly backed Raja Warring's continuation, citing his organisational control and widespread support among district Congress presidents and the state leadership. The decision also reflects the view among senior AICC leaders that replacing a state president who had led the organisation through a politically difficult period and consistently challenged the state government could have demoralised party workers barely months before preparations for the Assembly elections gather momentum. Reacting to the AICC's decision, Warring expressed confidence that the party was fully prepared for the upcoming electoral challenge. "The party has geared up for the elections and every leader will work unitedly to bring the Congress back to power in Punjab," Warring said, adding: "I thank the party leadership for putting up a broad-based team of senior leaders in command for the crucial 2027 poll battle in Punjab."...