With nearly 30 party rebels in fray, Punjab Congress on Sunday set a deadline till Tuesday warning them either to opt out or face ‘expulsion for life’.
Issuing a stern warning to the dissidents who refused to bow out from the electoral contest, Punjab Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh asked them to “retire from the race by Tuesday evening or face permanent expulsion from the party”.
Even as its attempts to pacify the rebellious voices within the party succeeded to some extent, the Congress is still facing 30 rebel candidates — a repeat of 2012 — with 10 of them having potential of playing a spoilsport for its nominees.
Urging the rebels to opt out in favour of the Congress nominees and put up a united front to defeat the “anti-people” SAD and AAP, Capt Amarinder said that the interests of Punjab and its people were supreme and could not be allowed to be compromised for personal gains.
Hitting out at the rebels who refused to heed the party leadership’s request for withdrawal of nomination, despite the promise that they would be accommodated once the Congress forms Government in the State, he said it amounted to violation of the party’s disciplinary ethics, which could not be permitted at any cost.
Capt Amarinder, however, said that the presence of rebel candidates in the fray would not have a serious impact on the poll prospects of the Punjab Congress.
The party, he asserted, had selected winnable candidates to contest the Assembly elections and they will help the
Congress sweep the polls with two-thirds majority to ensure restoration of Punjab’s “lost glory”.
Adamant on his tough stance against the rebel candidates, the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president said that he had asked party national president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi to show no laxity in dealing with the dissidents.
He has urged the Congress high command to expel such rebels for life and close all doors for their re-entry, giving them a last chance to toe the party line by announcing their retirement by Tuesday evening.
The former Chief Minister also thanked those who had heeded the party leadership’s request to withdraw their papers before the last day of filing nominations, saying that it was now the party’s responsibility to take care of their interests.
He said he will personally ensure that they are not let down on this count and are accommodated in key positions to take the Congress agenda of governance and development forward after the formation of its Government in the State.
On the last day of withdrawing nomination, that is on Saturday, a total of nine Congress rebels withdrew their candidature including Satinder Singh Chhajjalwaddi from Baba Bakala, Harpeet Kaur Barnala, wife of Gaganjit Singh Barnala, from Dhuri, Gurpreet Kaur Gagowal in mansa, party’s general secretary Gurmail Pahelwan from ludhiana East, among others.
The party is facing maximum rebellion in Doaba region as party’s spokesperson Nimisha Mehta refused to relent in Garhshankar, sitting Banga MlA Tarlochan Singh Soondh, among others.
Party’s senior leader and former Union Minister Anand Sharma also requested the rebels to withdraw from the race and strengthen the party’s hands against the SAD and AAP.