The Congress high command has called a meeting of top party leaders this week to give a final shape to the organisational overhaul in Punjab.A senior Congress leader said a meeting of the All-India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretaries, who are also in-charges of different states, had also been called on June 2. The leader said the party’s general secretary in-charge for Punjab Bhupesh Baghel would also attend the Tuesday’s meeting.The leader, however, did not disclose the day when the discussions on Punjab would take place. “Since the restructuring of the state unit is pending, the discussion would focus on the key changes required to be made,” he said. According to sources, the party brass is expected to take forward the one-to-one interactions held with senior state leaders on May 29.Rahul Gandhi, along with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, had met state party chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Partap Singh Bajwa, former CM Charanjit Singh Channi, Vijay Inder Singla and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.Demand to replace WarringA source said most leaders who attended the Friday meeting pressed to replace Warring as the state unit chief. The high command is, however, carefully weighing the pros and cons of a change of guard at this juncture.While a section of senior leaders in Delhi is keen on retaining Warring, internal popularity surveys conducted by a close confidante of Rahul Gandhi have shown that Channi is in a stronger position to lead the party.“We have experienced leaders like Warring, Bajwa, Randhawa, Channi, Singla, Rana KP Singh, Pargat Singh and Amar Singh. All would be accommodated in key panels,” the senior leader said.He said the state leaders pressing for a change of guard had been categorically told that the high command would not act under pressure. “It would take an appropriate decision after due consultations and not to fulfil someone’s personal aspirations,” the leader added.


