The battle within the Punjab Congress has virtually escalated into a war with the Central leadership forcing Delhi Durbar to take a vague middle path. A day after Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu’s camp questioned Harish Rawat’s declaration of Capt Amarinder leading the party to 2022 Assembly polls, Punjab party affairs’ in-charge on Monday maintained a strategic silence on the issue.
Days after declaring that Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder would lead the party in crucial elections, Rawat tactically declared that Congress will fight 2022 polls in the State under the leadership of the Gandhis.
Rawat’s assertion came a day before his visit to the State capital and a day after senior party leader and MLA Pargat Singh questioned him when the party decided that the Punjab election would be fought under the leadership of Capt Amarinder Singh.
Already, Navjot Singh Sidhu had virtually threatened the party’s Central leadership of adverse reaction in case he was not given a free hand. His “itt naal itt” remark has, in fact, failed to go down well with the party high command.
The reactions from the anti-Capt Amarinder camp came after Rawat, on August 25, had stated that the Congress party “will contest 2022 Punjab elections under the leadership of Captain Amarinder Singh”. His statement had come after the dissident Congress leaders’ seven-member delegation, including four Cabinet Ministers and three legislators, had met Rawat in Dehradun seeking Capt Amarinder’s ouster from the Chief Minister’s post.
The dissident leaders’ attempts to meet the party high command or senior central leaders, to raise the demand for Capt Amarinder’s removal, also failed to find any favour, forcing outbreaks from the leaders from the Sidhu camp.
“We will definitely fight the election in the name of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi. They are our identities. They are our leaders,” said Rawat on Monday.
“We have many national faces, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. At the local level also, we have several faces, like Capt Amarinder Singh, Navjot Singh Sidhu, and even Pargat Singh himself...One should not be impatient...I know when and what I need to say,” Rawat said, reacting to the statement by the former Indian hockey team captain.
Maintaining that Rawat’s statement had impacted Punjab voters, Pargat Singh had, a day before, said: “It was decided that the next poll in Punjab will be contested under the leadership of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi. Harish Rawat should tell when it was decided that the poll will be fought under Captain Amarinder Singh’s leadership.”
Amidst intensifying infighting in the state party unit, Rawat is scheduled to visit Chandigarh on Tuesday, to meet both the Chief Minister and PPCC president. His visit would come days after he briefed the party’s vice-president Rahul Gandhi about the prevailing state of affairs in Punjab.
Already Rawat had sought from the party high command to relieve his from the charge of Punjab party affairs’ in-charge citing impending elections in his home state Uttarakhand, simultaneously with Punjab’s.
The Congress high command has, as of now, refused to accept his request, reportedly maintaining that he first need to resolve the internal strife in the Punjab party unit.
Rawat is expected to meet both Capt Amarinder and Sidhu, besides their supporters to negotiate peace. A meeting with both Capt Amarinder and Sidhu is also not ruled out.
