Cracks appear in Punjab Congress over calls for Dalit representation in party by Channi

Internal discord in the Punjab Congress came to the fore after a video surfaced on social media in which former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi was heard seeking Dalit representation in the party.

However, the Jalandhar MP maintained that he was not speaking against any caste or community and was a victim of malicious propaganda on social media.

“If you accept that there is a 35-38% population in Punjab,” Mr. Channi said while addressing a meeting of the party’s Scheduled Caste (SC) wing in Chandigarh on Saturday, January 17, 2026. [of Dalits]”It’s there, so why can’t we get representation?”

He also said: “Punjab [Congress] president is from upper caste, CLP leader is from upper caste, women’s wing of Punjab Congress is from upper caste, Punjab [Congress] upper caste general secretary? Where are we going? Where will these people go?”

Mr. Channi, a prominent party leader of the Dalit community, was accompanied by All India Congress Committee’s SC department chief Rajendra Gautam at the meeting.

Currently the top posts in the Punjab Congress are held by Jat Sikh faces.

Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and opposition leader is Partap Singh Bajwa.

According to a Congress source, the issue is likely to be taken up in a meeting called by the party’s top brass of state party leaders on January 23.

Amid the developments, Punjab BJP leader Kewal Singh Dhillon on Monday (January 19) asked Mr. Channi to join the BJP, saying he would find honor and respect.

“@CHARANJITCHANNI ji, as a proud Punjabi, I believe your stance on Dalit representation shows leadership and secular values. In @BJP4Punjab you will find respect, dignity and real opportunity to serve every community. Let’s work together for the future of Punjab,” Mr. Dhillon said in a post on X.

Punjab Assembly Polls will be held in 2027.

Meanwhile, Mr Warring said Mr Channi had the “biggest post” in the party as a member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC).

On Sunday, January 18, when the Punjab Congress president was asked about Mr Channi’s alleged comments, he said: “The biggest position is the position of a CWC member. Who is he? This is Charanjit Singh Channi saab… I don’t want to get into any media report. Channi saab cannot say that. He has the biggest position.”

Mr Channi also said that Sunil Jakhar was removed when he was appointed leader of the Congress Legislative Assembly Party in Punjab “because there was no discrimination in the Congress”.

Mr. Jakhar, currently with the BJP, is a Jat leader.

“Today Channi is an MP despite losing elections to two parliamentary seats. He was made an MP and member of the CWC. Channi saab is also the chairman of parliament’s agriculture committee,” Mr Warring said.

“Who was the Chief Minister? It was Sukhjinder Randhawa or Amar Singh. But (eventually) who was he? It was Channi saab. Dalits are our crown jewel and will always remain so,” he added.

After the Congress unceremoniously removed Amarinder Singh from the post of Chief Minister in 2021, Mr. Channi was elected to the post.

However, Mr. Channi lost two assembly seats (Chamkaur Sahib and Bhadaur) in the 2022 Assembly elections.

Mr. Warring maintained that the Congress, a secular party, does not engage in politics based on religion and caste.

“If Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge had done this, we could have been in power like the BJP,” he said, claiming that it was the saffron party that tolerated polarisation.

The drama continued to unfold on Monday, January 19, when Mr Channi claimed that propaganda was being carried out against him.

In his video message, he said, “For the last few days, false propaganda has been made about me on social media and television channels, claiming that I spoke against a caste or community. I have never spoken against anyone anywhere, and I cannot speak against anyone. I have always respected all religions.” he said.

The former Punjab Chief Minister said he firmly believed in Guru Sahiban’s philosophy of “Manas ki jaat sabhe ek pehchanbo” (See the entire human race as one).

Thanking the Congress, he said, “Punjab is a bouquet containing different castes and religions. We need to expand this bouquet. When the party becomes a bouquet, every segment of society is represented and takes everyone with it. Then the government is formed. I am saying this and it is wrong to attribute this to casteism.” Meanwhile, Patiala Congress MP Dharamvira Gandhi wrote on Facebook that she was “very unhappy, very sad”. “The Congress party, especially its faction-dominated Punjab unit, lacks deep politics,” he said.

The MP also suggested that the upcoming Punjab Youth Congress elections be postponed for at least one-and-a-half to two years, arguing that holding organizational elections close to the Assembly elections could deepen divisions within the party.

It was published – 20 January 2026 02:11 IST