Rahul Gandhi Sangrur Rally Launches Congress Punjab 2027 Campaign

Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, launched the Congress campaign for the 2027 Punjab Assembly election at an “Insaaf Rally” in Sangrur on Wednesday, 4 November, attacking the Aam Aadmi Party government over drugs and law and order. Sangrur is Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s home turf, and Congress chose it for the party’s first big rally of the campaign, according to The Tribune’s live coverage and National Herald.

Gandhi said he had warned years ago that drugs were spreading in Punjab and that the BJP and the Akali Dal had brushed it aside. He said “chitta”, adulterated heroin, was now one of the state’s biggest problems, and asked the crowd which of AAP’s poll promises had been kept. He also challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to an open debate on the BJP’s charge that Congress is “anti-national”.

AAP Is the Main Target

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge told the rally the party would win Punjab and called AAP the BJP’s “B team”, saying it splits the Congress vote and helps the BJP win. Former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi sharply criticised Mann, and Punjab Congress president Pargat Singh described the state as a “police state”, alleging that many young people had died of drug overdoses. These are the speakers’ claims; the Punjab government’s response was not available in the reports IPB reviewed.

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Gandhi recalled meeting singer Sidhu Moosewala, shot dead in Mansa district on 29 May 2022. He said Moosewala’s security had been removed before he was killed, and brought the singer’s father on stage. Kharge also claimed Gandhi faces more than 24 FIRs, while gangsters in Punjab go unpunished.

Congress Won 18 Seats in 2022

Congress won 77 of 117 seats in 2017 but fell to 18 in 2022, when AAP took 92, National Herald noted. K C Venugopal, the party’s general secretary (organisation), had announced the rally after a Chandigarh meeting, saying Punjab wants a complete change of government and that Congress is confident of forming it.

Election Due in Early 2027

The Punjab election is due in early 2027. Kharge told the rally the party must stay united. For earlier coverage of the party’s current national fight, see Kharge’s reply to Modi on the EC and the Daily Updates section.

Source: Based on reporting by The Tribune and National Herald.

Image: PTI (file photo).