The civic body elections in Punjab have delivered a sobering reality check for the Congress , not merely in terms of electoral arithmetic, but also in accelerating the factional faultlines within the party. While the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) rode a virtual urban wave to a dominant performance, the principal Opposition Congress’s internal discord – laid bare at a stormy Delhi meeting on Friday attended by Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi and Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge – suggests that the setback may prove more damaging to the Congress’s organisational cohesion. At the heart of the discord lies the contrasting fortunes of key leaders. Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring suffered a humiliating personal blow in his stronghold of Gidderbaha, where the AAP won 17 of 19 wards in the municipal council despite his intensive campaigning.…