Saptrishi Soni: The Congress has begun sharpening its political attack on the Bhagwant Mann government after appointing Sachin Pilot as its Punjab in-charge, with the senior Congress leader accusing the Aam Aadmi Party government of failing to properly manage Punjab’s complex governance and security challenges.
Pilot’s intervention signals that Congress intends to make governance and security central themes of its campaign for the 2027 Assembly election.
Punjab is not an ordinary state in India’s political landscape. Its international border, history of militancy, agricultural economy and drug crisis make questions of law and order and national security particularly sensitive.
Pilot has argued that the Mann government has failed to adequately address these challenges and has criticised what he described as administrative shortcomings. He has also made allegations about a political understanding between AAP and BJP. Those claims are political allegations and have not been established as fact.
The Congress leader’s attack comes immediately after his appointment as the party’s Punjab in-charge, suggesting that the high command wants to move quickly from organisational restructuring to political mobilisation.
But Congress has a problem of its own.
The party remains divided along competing leadership lines, and the relationship between state president Raja Warring and several senior leaders has periodically generated controversy.
Pilot’s first major test will therefore be internal unity.
His appointment has already produced some movement in the factional debate. Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, who had previously demanded a change in Warring’s leadership, has now indicated less urgency on the issue.
That could provide Pilot with some political space to focus on the larger battle against AAP.
The Congress is likely to concentrate on issues where the Mann government is vulnerable: drugs, law and order, employment, agriculture, fiscal management and allegations of administrative failure.
The party will also seek to remind voters that AAP’s 2022 victory came with an unprecedented mandate and that the government must now be judged against the expectations created by that mandate.
For Mann, the challenge is to defend his government’s record without allowing the opposition to define the election entirely around controversies.
For Congress, the challenge is equally significant: it must demonstrate that it has moved beyond its internal divisions and can present a credible alternative government.
The 2027 election remains months away, but the political campaign has already begun in substance.
Pilot’s arrival suggests that Congress believes the battle for Punjab can be made competitive if it succeeds in combining organisational unity with a clear attack on the Mann government’s record.
