Punjab leaders have assured me of working collectively under Rahul ji and Kharge ji’s leadership, says Sachin Pilot

Newly appointed Congressgeneral secretary in charge ofPunjab, Sachin Pilot, on Tuesday (September 8, 2026) met Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as he took up his new assignment.

He faces the challenge of factionalism in the State unit, particularly between former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Pradesh Congress Committee chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring. Do you have a plan to bring the two warring factions together?

I don’t think they are warring (smiles). It is, perhaps, a different way of approaching the same situation. Every single Congressman understands that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) needs to be voted out and that Congress is ultimately the only viable option.

I have spoken to almost all the leaders in Punjab and they have assured me that they will work collectively and unitedly, under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi ji and Mallikarjun Kharge ji, to deliver the State. There are huge challenges facing Punjab — the drug menace, the agrarian crisis.

The State machinery is also pretty bankrupt. So Congress will have a responsibility to deliver. Mr. Channi is upset that the high command did not appoint him PCC chief or project him as the Chief Ministerial candidate. Can you pacify him?

I had a very cordial meeting with him today. Whatever may have happened in the past is difficult to undo, but moving forward, he has assured me his complete and full support to the party’s efforts. As he himself said, it was the party that made him Chief Minister and a member of the Congress Working Committee.

He was, perhaps, the first and only Dalit to have been made Chief Minister in Punjab. He was part of the history that the Congress Party had created. It will certainly be a multi-cornered election. But to my mind, the main contest would be between AAP and Congress.

AAP is the incumbent and has to be accountable. Whether the BJP and Akali Dal align or not is immaterial to me. As for AAP’s leadership, a lot of money and resources are being spent to promote names and faces, but not good governance and delivery on the ground.

This media blitz and last-minute spending is futile. People take an account and make the final call on polling day. Are you worried about the growth of radical elements in politics in Punjab once again? It was the Congress leadership, both at the State and national level, that pulled Punjab out of the dark decade.

So many sacrifices were made by people, policemen and party leaders. It is not a healthy sign when so-called extremist elements get any traction, because India is a secular country and Punjab, to my mind, is one of the most secular States.

It doesn’t matter whether you are Hindu or Sikh. If you’re Punjabi, Punjabi culture speaks a lot more than what religion you wear on your sleeve. What are the main issues Congress would focus on? People in Punjab really want a fresh start.

They want a reset because they have seen all this crime and bankruptcy, yet no fiscal reforms. There needs to be a reset in all sectors — industry, agriculture, employment generation and adapting to new technologies and opportunities.

There is not a country in this world where Punjabis are not present — in politics, industry, technology, banking and everywhere else. Why are they not coming back and doing things here? Because they don’t feel that the ecosystem is conducive.