Congress leader on Friday indicated that newly appointed Punjab in-charge Sachin Pilot may have played a role in his resignation as the party’s state unit chief, saying he believes Pilot may have decided that it was time to remove him from the post.
Warring, who met former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and formally submitted his resignation, said he had no concrete proof to substantiate his claim but suggested that there was no other specific issue behind his decision to step down.
Warring attacks Sachin Pilot, blames him for his resignation
“When he was appointed in charge, I went to formally congratulate him. I spoke with him for about 15 minutes that day… but I haven’t met him since,” Warring said while referring to Pilot.
“Given my long journey in politics, I feel that Sachin Pilot must have decided it was time to remove ‘Raja’ from the post. I don’t have concrete proof of this, but perhaps the General Secretary felt that Raja should be removed… Otherwise, there is no specific issue,” he said.
On meeting with Rahul Gandhi
Warring said he had conveyed his concerns to Rahul Gandhi, adding that there was no one else in the party’s hierarchy to whom he could explain his views.
“I have conveyed what I had to say to Rahul Gandhi. There is no one left after Rahul Gandhi to whom I could explain what should or shouldn’t happen,” he said.
He added that Gandhi sought an update on the political situation in Punjab and asked him about the challenges facing the party.
Warring said he discussed both the challenges before the Congress and its strengths in Punjab with Gandhi.
“I discussed with him our challenges and how we have to fight those challenges and where our strengths lie,” he said.
Punjab Congress power tussle
Warring had headed the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee for around four-and-a-half years. His resignation comes months ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections, which are due early next year, and follows prolonged infighting within the state Congress unit.
The Congress had recently replaced its AICC in-charge for Punjab, Bhupesh Baghel, with Sachin Pilot. Baghel had spent several weeks in the state attempting to address differences between rival factions.
Differences between Charanjit Singh Channi and Amarinder Singh Raja Warring had emerged as a major source of friction within the Punjab Congress ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
The rift intensified in June 2026, when the Congress high command constituted a three-member observers’ panel comprising Ajay Maken, Meenakshi Natarajan and Bhajan Lal Jatav to assess the party’s organisational situation in Punjab. The panel held consultations with around 67 party leaders, including MPs, MLAs, former ministers and district-level functionaries. According to reports, a majority of those consulted backed Channi for the post of Punjab Congress president.
Despite the feedback, the Congress leadership retained Warring as the state unit chief on July 1 and appointed Channi chairman of the party’s campaign committee for the 2027 polls. The decision reportedly triggered resentment among Channi’s supporters, who had been seeking a change in the state leadership.
Two days later, on July 3, more than 20 sitting and former Congress MLAs, along with several senior party leaders, gathered at Channi’s residence in Rupnagar and publicly backed him. The group called for the leadership decision to be reconsidered, while the Channi camp maintained that the party needed a change at the top in Punjab.