'Chain Down, Tyres Punctured': Charanjit Channi's Cycle Yatra Runs Into Punjab Congress Disunity

Even before former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi could set his proposed cycle yatra in motion, the Congress found itself under attack from its political rivals with taunts over apparent disunity. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann mocked Channi's proposed 'Jawani Sambhal Yatra', saying Congress leaders had already "removed the chain from his bicycle", while senior BJP leader Sunil Jakhar quipped that the Congress's 'Punjab Mangda Insaaf Yatra', led by state Congress president Pargat Singh, had already "punctured the tyres" of Channi's cycle campaign.

The sharp remarks came after the launch of the Congress's larger 'Punjab Mangda Insaaf Yatra' ('Punjab Demands Justice') on Wednesday, which saw the absence of several heavyweight leaders and a relatively thin turnout, triggering fresh questions over factionalism and coordination within the state unit ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.

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Channi's cycle yatra, scheduled to begin on Thursday, is being projected as a key component of the Congress's broader political mobilisation. Named 'Jawani Sambhal Yatra' ('Save the Youth'), its first phase will cover 28 Assembly constituencies, with a focus on youth-related issues. Channi clarified that the cycle campaign was not a separate initiative but part of the larger 'Punjab Insaaf Mangda Hai' programme. He said Congress leaders would travel different parts of the state through parallel programmes rather than assembling in a single convoy.

According to Channi, senior leaders including Pargat Singh, Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, former state Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and others would be assigned different areas. Party in-charge Sachin Pilot would also be associated with the campaign.

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However, the explanation came after the absence of Channi, Warring and former deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa from Wednesday's launch of the party programme raised eyebrows. Punjab Congress president Pargat Singh and Bajwa were the prominent leaders present at the event. The convoy also failed to reflect the scale of a major pre-election mobilisation, featuring only a handful of vehicles, a small bus and a campaign-branded SUV. Several vehicles appeared empty, while the expected crowd of party workers was largely missing. Both Pargat Singh and Bajwa rejected suggestions of factionalism, insisting that the Congress was united and that different leaders were working on separate programmes to carry the campaign across Punjab. Channi maintained that the entire Congress leadership was involved in the exercise and that no constituency would be left uncovered.

The Congress in Punjab has been battling factionalism and competing leadership ambitions, particularly between the camps of Charanjit Singh Channi and Raja Warring. The party high command initially deployed former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel to manage differences within the state unit. Amid concerns over factionalism, the Congress replaced him with Sachin Pilot as Punjab in-charge on September 5. Soon after his appointment, Pilot sought to dispel concerns over internal divisions.

The leadership reshuffle continued, with Warring stepping down and Pargat Singh being appointed the new Punjab Congress president on October 2, a move seen as an attempt to accommodate competing interests and pacify different camps. 

Now, the launch of the 'Punjab Mangda Insaaf Yatra' and Channi's separate 'Jawani Sambhal Yatra' have once again handed the AAP and BJP ammunition to question the Congress's unity and coordination ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.