Sachin Pilot has not ruled out the possibility of further changes in the state unit after he himself replaced Congress general secretary in charge of Punjab Bhupesh Baghel recently.Speaking to The Tribune after assuming organisational charge of the border state, Pilot described structural revamp in the party as “routine”.He was answering a direct question on whether after Baghel, Punjab Congress president Amrinder Raja Warring could also be considered for a replacement, in line with a dominant view among other senior leaders of the state unit.“I think now is the time for us to focus on how to take on the incumbent AAP government. And organisationally, I must put on record that Bhagel worked quite hard for more than a year and a half. He travelled the length and breadth of Punjab. He gave a lot of energy to the Congress efforts. And these changes happen routinely.”Pilot went on to cite his own example of how he had played different roles in the Congress. What he left unsaid was that he continued to discharge the responsibilities the Congress gave him despite repeated denial of elevation to the position of Chief Minister of Rajasthan when Ashok Gehlot was the CM and Pilot, his deputy CM.“I was in charge of the Congress in Chhattisgarh. Now I’m in Punjab. Tomorrow I’ll be assigned some other responsibility. So, this rotation of jobs, I think it’s not that significant. It’s a routine exercise in all parties, not just the Congress,” he said.Baghel, who was widely seen as closely aligned with Amrinder Raja Warring in Punjab, had earned the ire of senior state leaders who wanted him gone.Warring’s replacement, a section of Congress sources say, “could come as the next logical round of organisational reshuffle in the Punjab Congress”.A few months ago, the name of AICC co-treasurer and Rahul Gandhi’s confidante Vijay Inder Singla was doing the rounds for the position of state Congress president. The move was stalled after the BJP appointed Kewal Dhillon, a Jat Sikh as its state chief, forcing a recalibration of the Congress strategy of replacing Jat Sikh Warring.Singla, a senior Hindu leader from Punjab’s Sangrur, is seen by some as an acceptable replacement of Warring, although the names of former Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi and incumbent Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa also remain among potential candidates who could step in should the Congress decide to let Warring go.Another senior Congress source said Warring had performed his role well and taken up the mantle of Punjab Congress president after the party’s embarrassing loss in the 2022 Assembly elections.“That was a time when no one wanted this job and Rahul Gandhi asked Warring to come in. And Warring did. Warring has age on his side and also Rahul’s confidence,” said a senior Congress leader explaining why Warring’s replacement may not matter that much to him personally but will have consequences for the party’s prospects ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.


