The Punjab Congress will launch a statewide public outreach campaign, 'Punjab Mangda Insaaf' (Punjab Demands Justice), at 11 am on Wednesday, November 11, from Punjab Congress Bhawan in Chandigarh, the party announced on Tuesday. The announcement was made in a Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) letter signed by state party president Pargat Singh and shared by the party on November 10, ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections due in early 2027.

Source: Punjab Chronicle

In a post announcing the campaign, the Punjab Congress quoted Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa: “Congress refuses to witness the downfall of Punjab from the sidelines. We stand with the people of Punjab and against the injustice that has been done.” The post added: “The drug menace, the farming crisis, negligence of the youth, working class and alike, must come to an end. The fight for justice starts now.” Bajwa has stressed that the government must be held accountable for what he called unfulfilled promises to farmers, young people and the working class.

Source: Punjab Congress (@INCPunjab) post, via Punjab Chronicle

Meetings with affected families, cycle yatras across constituencies

Under the campaign, Congress leaders and workers will meet families affected by crime and gangster-related violence, as well as families struggling with drug addiction, the party said. The outreach will cover farmers, labourers, government employees, traders, students and young people, with cycle yatras, public meetings and programmes planned across Assembly constituencies to collect public grievances and carry them into the political debate.

Pargat Singh has expressed the party's resolve to make the campaign a platform for the voice of Punjab's people. Former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi will play a leading role as chairman of the campaign committee, and Congress MLAs, district and block presidents, office-bearers and party workers are expected to join the launch and the programmes that follow, the party said.

The party says the drive carries forward the message of Rahul Gandhi's Insaaf Rally in Sangrur earlier this month, where the Congress formally opened its 2027 campaign in Punjab and put the state's drug crisis at the centre of its attack on the AAP government. Read: Rahul Gandhi's Sangrur Insaaf Rally speech

The 2027 context

The Congress is the principal opposition party in Punjab, where the Aam Aadmi Party has been in power since 2022 and the next Assembly elections are due in early 2027. The campaign's chosen issues — drugs, law and order, the farmers' crisis and youth employment — are the same ground on which the Congress, BJP and SAD have all been attacking the Bhagwant Mann government. No response from the AAP government to the campaign announcement had been reported at the time of publication.