Chandigarh: Congress MP K.C. Venugopal has arrived in Chandigarh for a meeting on preparations for the party's November 4 rally, which will be attended by Rahul Gandhi. Speaking to the media on Sunday, Venugopal said, "There is a meeting regarding election preparations. Rahul Gandhi will be arriving here on the 4th; we will also hold a meeting to prepare for that."

Punjab Congress president Pargat Singh said an organisational meeting would be held on Monday to finalise arrangements for the rally. Punjab Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa said the party had been looking forward to the rally and claimed that, given the current situation in Punjab, the Congress is set to make a major comeback — that is the party's own claim.

The party had earlier announced that Rahul Gandhi will visit Sangrur on November 4 and that the visit is part of its 'Mission 2027' preparations for the 2027 Assembly elections, with the Malwa region given central importance.

Meanwhile, reacting to former Congress MLA from Jalalabad Raminder Singh Awla joining the Shiromani Akali Dal, Pargat Singh said the issue was about who stands with Punjab and who stands against it. He alleged that the move is about business interests and that "they are a proxy for the BJP" — that is Pargat Singh's allegation; no response from Awla or the SAD is included in this report. Awla joined the SAD on Sunday in the presence of party president Sukhbir Singh Badal.