The politics over resignations is hotting up in Punjab. Even as the demand for Punjab Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa’s resignation is getting shriller with each passing day, senior party leader Sunil Jakhar on Sunday said that he had already put in his papers as Congress legislative Party leader taking “moral responsibility” of party’s defeat.
Jakhar, who unsuccessfully contested the recently-concluded lok Sabha polls from Ferozepur constituency against sitting Akali MP Sher Singh Ghubaya, claimed that he had submitted his resignation to the All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Sonia Gandhi on May 20.“I have submitted my resignation to AICC chief Sonia Gandhi on May 20 as ClP leader taking moral responsibility of party’s defeat, particularly mine in Ferozepur. But, she asked me to continue my work on the post,” Jakhar told The Pioneer.
“I have asked the party high command that I am quitting this post and they have plenty of time, around two months before the next assembly session, to take a call on the new ClP leader…As far as I am concerned, I have resigned from the post…I am no more the ClP leader,” said Jakhar.
Jakhar’s claims of stepping down from the post of ClP leader came at a time when the Congress leaders led by Capt Amarinder Singh has been pressurizing Bajwa to resign from the post of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president owning moral responsibility of the party’s poll debacle.
The leaders have been insisting that the party, besides its failure to cash in on anti-incumbency wave against the ruling SAD-BJP Government in the state, failed to check the entry of Aam Aadmi Party which has drawn blank in the entire country.More to the point is that Bajwa himself has failed to secure his seat, and lost to former Union Minister and Bollywood actor Vinod Khanna from Gurdaspur.Responding to the demand, Bajwa claimed that he had offered to quit the party’s presidentship ever since the Congress lost on 10 seats out of total 13 lok Sabha seats in the State.
Bajwa said that he had “offered” to quit, but it was not known whether he had submitted his resignation with the party high command. The party’s state affairs general secretary in-charge Shakeel Ahmad maintained that he was not aware of Bajwa’s resignation, if he had submitted the one to the AICC chief.
Jakhar’s resignation is being looked as an attempt of anti-Bajwa camp to build pressure on him to put in his papers. Denying the same, Jakhar said: “I went to Delhi to submit my resignation without informing anyone because at that time there were talks of Bajwa’s resignation going on. And I don’t want my move to be interpreted as an attempt to pressure Bajwa.”
Post lok Sabha election fiasco, the party has been divided into two power centres — each headed by the Bajwa and Capt Amarinder.2014 general elections witnessed Congress’ one of the worst ever performance in the state with its tally of eight MPs coming down to just three. That is not all! Its vote share has also witnessed a huge dip, in a gap of just two years, from 40.11 per cent in 2012 state assembly polls to 33.1 per cent.
Congress' vote share has come down by more than 12 per cent from 45.23 per cent during 2009 lok Sabha elections — thanks to the Aam Aadmi Party that has taken the major share of votes, that is 24.5 per cent, out of the two major political opponents in the State.The constant tug-of-war for power between Capt Amarinder and Bajwa is nothing new. At the time when Capt Amarinder was the state party chief, Bajwa continuously tried to pull him down by one way or another. Similarly, now when Bajwa is at the helm of party affairs, Capt Amarinder is leaving no stone unturned to prove that choosing Bajwa for replacing him was a wrong decision.
Now with the former Chief Minister registering a “historic” win against the BJP stalwart Arun Jaitley in his first ever lok Sabha election in Amritsar, Capt Amarinder is once again back in the game with his supporters wanting him back as the state party chief.Bajwa, on the other hand, questioned why did Capt Amarinder not resign when the party lost in 2007.