When Raja Malvinder Singh drove an olive-green SUV into a city five-star hotel with his elder brother and former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh sitting besides him, it became amply clear that the duo were travelling towards harmony once again.
It also signified the return of a lone soldier to the Congress camp after trying to ally with the “enemy” — the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). Though his return cannot be termed as a “real gain” for the Congress, it is still being seen as an individual and psychological victory for Amarinder.
As Malvinder Singh formally announced his “return” to Samana, the constituency he nurtured for decades, for “putting things back in order”, it became apparent that the brothers were together again; and the “grouse” for not reposing faith in him in 2012 Assembly polls was still there. Malvinder minced no words to admit that he went “for a reason”, apparently, to prove the party’s decision to field his nephew and Amarinder’s son Raninder Singh from Samana was “wrong”.
“That was the reason I left Congress…I have something to prove, and that was it,” Malvinder said while talking with The Pioneer. “Everything in Samana is in compete disorder…and I am going to start working there from tomorrow,” said Malvinder, adding that it was only in 2012 that Congress lost in Samana — that comes under Patiala lok Sabha seat.
Malvinder, days before Punjab was going for polls in 2012, joined hands with Congress’ arch-rival Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) targeting Patiala MP and his sister-in-law Preneet Kaur for “securing a ticket for her son but not for me”.
Maintaining a tactical silence on the issue of burying the hatchet with Preneet and campaigning for her, all that Malvinder said was that he would “campaign wherever the party president Sonia Gandhi would ask her — be it Bathinda, or Patiala or anywhere”. He added that with time, “differences sort out at some stage”.
Attributing his homecoming to “friend’s wife” Sonia Gandhi, Malvinder said that it was her repeated asking “that I finally agreed on January 24 to come back to Congress”.
Even as Malvinder’s decision to return to the Congress hardly had any impact on the Akali Dal, Amarinder was all ecstatic. The development assumes significance as it came at a time when SAD president Sukhbir Badal’s cousin Manpreet Badal has joined hands with the Congress for contesting from Bathinda against Sukhbir’s wife Harsimrat Kaur.
“My brother is with me…ask Badal to take Gurdas Badal along,” said an elated Capt Amarinder.
Malvinder’s return may, to some extent, give a push to the chances of Preneet Kaur who is seeking re-election from Patiala and is facing challenge from his once close confidant Deepinder Singh Dhillon as Akali candidate, and new-sprung Aam Aadmi Party’s Dharamvir Gandhi. “AAP is going to eat into Congress’ votes than SAD,” said Malvinder. Agreeing, Capt Amarinder said that Gandhi has great reputation in Patiala and would give tough fight.
Denying that he returned as SAD didn’t field him from Patiala, Malvinder said that the Badals initially offered me the ticket “twice which I said that would consider when time will come, but I had never asked for anything in SAD nor in Congress”.
At the same time, he took no exception in terming the SAD’s functioning a complete “dictatorship”. “Everyone has to toe the line, be it MlAs, MPs…while in Congress, you can discuss. Things here are far better, as all regional parties have this problem,” he added, before signing off.