As the election year approaches in Punjab, political mobilisation has moved to the streets with rallies, padyatras and village-level outreach programmes underway and parties seeking to stake an early claim to political space while signalling organisational muscle.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has launched its Punjab Bachao rallies from February 17. The BJP held chaupals in January to promote its Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission–Gramin (VB-G-RAM-G). The Congress, meanwhile, has been on the road since the first week of January with its MGNREGA Bachao Sangram rallies, pausing only briefly between events.
For the Congress in Punjab, the messaging appears more layered. Beyond opposing the proposed replacement of MGNREGA, the rallies are increasingly aimed at projecting unity in its state unit long-riddled by factionalism. That subtext is particularly evident in Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s scheduled mega rally in Barnala on February 28. The party has released a poster depicting him dressed as a farm labourer — in a maroon sweater, off-white headgear, and carrying a shovel.
Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring has articulated the party’s pitch. “The rally is being held against the scrapping of MGNREGA and the signing of the trade deal with the United States, which will have a devastating impact on Punjab. While the new law will affect the livelihood of the poor, the trade deal will destroy Punjab’s farmers,” he said, adding that the state would be among the worst-hit as agriculture remains the backbone of its economy.
Warring said people from adjoining districts like Sangrur, Bathinda and Mansa will attend Gandhi’s rally. “Rahulji has been addressing rallies in other states. Punjab is poll-bound and workers are mobilised when a national leader visits the state,” he added.
The Congress has been organising similar rallies nationwide, with MGNREGA slated to be replaced by VB-G-RAM-G from the coming financial year.
More than just a protest
The state Congress has repeatedly struggled with internal discord, and the leadership appears keen to signal unity with this event
The choice of Barnala as the venue is politically significant. The constituency in the Malwa region returned to the Congress in the November 2024 bypolls, one of four Assembly by-elections held after sitting MLAs vacated their seats following their victories in the Lok Sabha polls. While the AAP won Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, and Chabbewal, the Congress secured Barnala despite the AAP’s strong performance in the region in the 2022 Assembly polls.
Within the party, leaders have publicly emphasised unity. Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa claimed at a recent MGNREGA Sangram rally that there were no factions in the state Congress. AICC Punjab in-charge Bhupesh Baghel has repeatedly said every senior leader is a potential CM and that the decision on the CM face rests with the high command.
“It seems Gandhi is visiting Punjab to quell unease among senior leaders, much like his 2015 visit when he sought to address differences between Bajwa and Amarinder,” a party source said.
With preparations underway at Barnala’s grain market, the Congress is aiming for a record turnout. The rally also comes ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s ‘badlaav’ rally in Moga on March 14.
Gandhi’s earlier visits
A comparison with Gandhi’s earlier visits reveals a shift. In November 2015, following the sacrilege incident at Bargari village in Faridkot district, he undertook an expansive and interactive visit where he met families of the Behbal Kalan firing victims — two villagers were killed in police firing on October 14, 2015 — and led a 7-km padyatra in Faridkot with then state Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa and then Amritsar MP Captain Amarinder Singh. He addressed several small gatherings, in what was widely seen as an effort to ease tensions between the two leaders.
In October 2020, Gandhi spent three days in Punjab backing farmers protesting against the now-repealed farm laws. His tractor march passed through Moga, Sangrur, Ludhiana and Patiala districts before entering Haryana, with over 500 tractors participating despite Covid protocols. He interacted extensively with farmers and addressed multiple rallies.
Party insiders said that pattern changed after the 2022 Assembly election results. “Post-2022, Gandhi’s visits have not been that elaborate — no extended padyatras or stays. These are half-day visits with limited public interaction and speeches largely from the stage,” said a Congress leader on condition of anonymity.
An exception was the Punjab leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra in January 2023, when Gandhi traversed several towns and cities from January 10 before addressing a rally in Pathankot on January 19 and entering Jammu. The march involved three-hour stretches in the morning and evening.