NEW DELHI: Congress’s decision to take a fresh look at the composition of its Punjab leadership in the run-up to assembly polls seems to have sown confusion rather than settle the prevailing factionalism.The flurry of review meetings and interviews of senior state functionaries has opened the idea of a change of team at the top, with the rank and file again appearing to be divided according to their loyalties. Party functionaries said this was the very development that they were seeking to avoid in the recent months because there is little time for an overhaul of the famously factionalised party branch.Congress formed a committee to look into the Punjab unit and is set to take a decision on its recommendations. The key reason for the final relook at the unit is seemingly its lopsided nature — with both the posts of LoP and state chief with one community (Sikh Jatt) — a result of the hasty appointments done after the 2022 AAP landslide that reduced Congress to just 18 MLAs out of 117.Traditionally, Congress’s organisation has also accommodated Dalit and Hindu faces as a signal to the influential social blocs of Punjab.But, according to insiders, the exercise is too delayed now because the option of changing the state brass could lead to a disconnect with the office bearers down the line who are likely to be loyal to the leadership of the last four years. A change may affect the unity of the ranks, which many believe is what can take Congress over the line in its battle against AAP. However, if the party sticks to the present leadership, it may end up accentuating the perception of social disbalance. “That is why this issue should never have been opened in public,” a member said.
