No room for indiscipline in Congress, erring leaders to face action: Baghel

Congress general secretary and All India Congress Committee (AICC) incharge for Punjab Bhupesh Baghel here on Saturday said that indiscipline in the party would not be tolerated at any cost.

Addressing a press conference at Punjab Congress Bhawan, along with the state party president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Baghel said no matter how big a leader might be, he could not be bigger than the party.

He made it categorically clear that action would be taken against any leader who tried to harm the party interests.

To another question, the former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister claimed that several senior leaders of other political parties were in touch with the Congress and had expressed their keenness to join the party.

He said during his two-day visit to Punjab, he had met a cross-section of leaders, including the district and block presidents. He said the AICC had already spelt out the agenda to strengthen the party right from the grassroots-level to the top.

In this context, he added that in Punjab, work had already begun with meetings and programmes at the district, block and booth level.

On the Ludhiana (West) assembly by-election, he said, the party would formulate a comprehensive strategy and committees would be formed to fight the election effectively and successfully.

To a question about the party’s preparations for the 2027 Assembly elections, he remarked that preparations had started while referring to a series of meetings he held during the past two days along with a cross section of party leaders and frontal organisations.

To a question on the possibility of voter list manipulations, he said it was very much possible in Punjab. If lakhs of votes can be added suspiciously in Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Delhi, it can be very much done in Punjab also. For this, he added that the DCC and block presidents and booth level workers had been asked “to keep a close watch on voter list manipulations”.

Goldy joins back Cong

Former MLA Dalvir Singh Goldy here on Saturday returned to the Congress fold in the presence of party general secretary incharge of Punjab, Bhupesh Baghel.

Dalvir Goldy, a former Member of the Legislative Assembly from Dhuri in Sangrur district, left the Congress before the 2024 Lok Sabha poll when he was denied ticket from Sangrur.

He had joined AAP in June last year.

60% of party contestants to be youth in 2027 poll

Bhupesh Baghel promised 60 per cent tickets to the youth under the Youth Congress quota in the 2027 Assembly poll.

He said this at a meeting of the Punjab Youth Congress, where he encouraged party workers to rise above local politics. Punjab Youth Congress president Mohit Mohindra presented a chart of performance of the Youth Congress.

Baghel said non-serious leaders would be shown the door and genuine youth leaders would get full recognition. He asked the PYC president to form five-member panels at the booth-level, comprising women and Dalit youth volunteers.

Punjab