The storm brewing within the Congress in Punjab over the issue of leadership seems to be ebbing, with the party high command apparently favouring neither the State party Chief Partap Singh Bajwa nor former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh but going in for a “neutral” chief.
As the party high command has initiated conducting hectic parleys with the senior leaders of the State party unit, the change is apparently on the cards any time now. Sources within the party informed The Pioneer that the high command may, any time, announce Bajwa’s replacement.
A day after party chief Sonia Gandhi met Capt Amarinder for 45-minutes, she on Wednesday met Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief Bajwa. The meetings came for the second time within a fortnight — indicating at the haste with which the party high command want to resolve the leadership tussle in the State.
Speculations are rife that the party high command has put its stamp of approval on the name of the leader to be appointed as PPCC chief, and the rounds of meetings are to discuss the same with the senior party leaders before making it official.
Sources said the party has zeroed in on the name of former Union Minister and senior leader Ambika Soni. Considered close to Sonia Gandhi, Soni had unsuccessfully contested 2014 general elections from Sri Anandpur Sahib against SAD’s Prem Singh Chandumajra.
It has been learnt that to sort out the growing factionalism within the party, which has been divided between two power centres each headed by Capt Amarinder and Bajwa, the high command has decided to appoint a “neutral” leader and PPCC chief.
Soni does not owe allegiance to any of the group while, at the same time, enjoys good relations with both Capt Amarinder and Bajwa.
“The main aim of the Congress is to deal with the factionalism and put up a united face in 2017 polls. This needs to be sorted out just now as elections are just about a year away,” said a senior Congress leader.
Interestingly, Soni was present in Tuesday’s meeting between Sonia Gandhi and Capt Amarinder. However, it was not sure whether she was also present during Bajwa’s meeting with the party chief on Wednesday.
Besides Soni, the names of Congress legislative Party leader Sunil Jakhar, former Union Minister Manish Tewari, former state Cabinet Minister lal Singh and youth leader Ravneet Singh Bittu, party’s MP from ludhiana were doing the rounds.
Capt Amarinder is pushing Jakhar’s name for the party’s top post, while Tewari appears to be the high command’s second choice as it is planning to go in for a Hindu face.
In addition to change in guard, the party high command may also appoint a new ClP leader replacing Jakhar. It has been learnt that the party may appoint a leader hailing from Scheduled Caste community.
To please Capt Amarinder, who either want his appointment as PPCC chief or that of his “man”, the party may appoint the Patiala Royal as campaign committee in-charge — the post he had refused to accept earlier also.
Faced with two successive defeats at the hands of the ruling Akali-BJP combine, Congress high command has, since past month, started intense discussions with the state leaders in Punjab with factional fights at its peak harming party’s prospects in the State.