Chandigarh, June 27 -- The Congress high command has accepted the resignations of three senior Punjab leaders, Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Pargat Singh, and Kushaldeep Singh Kikki Dhillon, following the party's defeat in the Ludhiana West byelection.

The move comes days after factionalism within the state unit turned into a "full-blown rebellion", triggered by the exclusion of Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa from the party's campaign machinery. Ashu, who contested the seat, led a divided campaign that left senior state leadership "sidelined", a strategy that now appears to have "backfired". Former CM Charanjit Singh Channi and MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh, were also part of this group, bu...