Chandigarh, Nov 15 2025: Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring on Saturday pushed back against suggestions of internal divisions following the party’s poor show in the Tarn Taran bypoll. Calling the buzz “a familiar narrative before every election”, he said the party leadership campaigned collectively and remained “fully united”.
The Congress suffered a heavy loss in Tarn Taran on Friday, with its candidate forfeiting his security deposit as AAP’s Harmeet Singh Sandhu won by a wide margin. Warring said the party’s challenge was compounded by the constituency’s panthic voting pattern, pointing out that the Congress has managed to win the seat only once in several decades.
He alleged the administration and local police “sided with the ruling party”, adding that the organisation nevertheless “fought with full strength” and every senior leader participated in the campaign.
Warring said the bypoll verdict cannot be treated as a broader political signal. He accused the AAP government of “manipulating official machinery” in recent by-elections and said the Congress will study both the local and statewide factors that contributed to the loss.
Rejecting talk of factionalism, he said similar claims surface before every election cycle. “Look at the past—such speculation has appeared in every poll year since 1997,” he said, adding that leaders set aside differences when elections approach. He urged observers to assess the Congress based on the 2024 Lok Sabha results, when the party won seven seats in Punjab, and said he was confident of “a stronger performance” in the 2027 Assembly polls.
