New Delhi, June 12
The Congress has appointed three senior leaders as All India Congress Committee observers to assess the political situation in Punjab and submit a report to the party leadership ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in the state.
According to a party announcement, Ajay Maken, Meenakshi Natarajan, and Bhajan Lal Jatav have been entrusted with evaluating the current political scenario in Punjab and reporting their findings to the Congress high command. The appointments take effect immediately.
The decision comes amid recent speculation over possible changes in the leadership of the Punjab Congress unit. However, Congress general secretary in charge of Punjab, Bhupesh Baghel, has dismissed such reports, maintaining that no discussion on a leadership change has taken place within the party.
Baghel recently stated that the Congress would move forward by taking all leaders along and that media reports suggesting a change in leadership were based on speculation. He reiterated that there was no proposal under consideration to alter the existing leadership structure in Punjab.
He also affirmed that Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring continues to lead the state unit. According to Baghel, the party will contest the forthcoming Assembly elections under the overall leadership of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi, while state leaders will collectively shoulder the campaign responsibility.
The appointment of the three observers is seen as part of the Congress party’s efforts to assess its organizational preparedness and political strategy in Punjab ahead of the Assembly elections scheduled for early next year.
The observers are expected to interact with party leaders and workers before submitting their report to the central leadership.
