Celebrating the sole victory of the Congress in the recently concluded Assembly elections in the five States, virtually who’s who of the grand old party and its allies are expected to land in the ‘City Beautiful’ for ‘Maharaja’ Capt Amarinder Singh’s coronation ceremony as Punjab’s 26th Chief Minister on Thursday.
From former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to Congress’ national vice-president Rahul Gandhi, from Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to a host of former CMs including Akhilesh Yadav, Omar Abdullah, Farooq Abdullah, Ashok Gehlot — Capt Amarinder’s “simple” oath-taking ceremony is all set to dazzle with the presence of number of luminaries.
Even as the name of Haryana’s former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is also in the list of dignitaries attending the swearing-in event, he is least expected to be present considering the contrary stand by the two neighbouring States over the controversial Satluj-Yamuna link (SYl) canal issue.
The party leaders from Haryana not only stayed away from campaigning for the Congress in Punjab, but also restrained from issuing any statement on Congress’ landslide victory in the state with the exception of Randeep Surjewala, who is party’s national spokesperson.
Brushing away the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the SAD-BJP combine from the state, 75-year-old Capt Amarinder led the Congress to end its decade long political exile by bagging 77 seats. AAP finished a distant second with 20 seats plus two won by its ally, lok Insaaf Party, while SAD-BJP combine could manage just 18 seats in its worst ever electoral performance.
Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore would administer the oath of office and secrecy to Capt Amarinder along with some of his fellow MlAs as cabinet ministers at Punjab Raj Bhawan. To begin with, Capt Amarinder has decided to keep his cabinet small, which would be expanded later.
In the list sent by the Chief Minister-designate to the Governor, the names of cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, former Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, senior party leader Brahm Mohindra has been included.
Besides, Capt Amarinder’s loyalists — Nabha MlA Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, Kapurthala MlA Rana Gurjit Singh, and Fatehgarh Churian Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa — have also been indicted in the Cabinet.
The former Congress legislative Party leader and party’s prominent Dalit face Charanjit Singh Channi has also secured a cabinet berth for himself.
Besides, the two female leaders — Malerkotla’s three-time MlA Razia Sultana and Dinanagar’s two-time MlA Aruna Choudhary — have also been give due place in the Council of Ministers, but as Minister of State (independent charge).
To witness the ‘Patiala Royal’ taking over the state’s reins for the second time, more than two dozen dignitaries are expected to attend the ceremony.
It is expected that seven to nine ministers, including cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, former Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, Capt Amarinder’s loyalists Rana Gurjit Singh, and Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, besides two female MlAs — Razia Sultana and Aruna Choudhary — are expected to be inducted in the council of ministers.
To witness the ‘Patiala Royal’ taking over the state’s reins for the second time, more than two dozen dignitaries are expected to attend the ceremony.
As many as 28 names have been mentioned in the list provided to administration for making arrangements for the dignitaries including the young Gandhi scion Rahul Gandhi, whom Capt Amarinder invited personally after meeting him a day before in the national capital.
The name of Dr Manmohan Singh — who helped the party in formulating the manifesto and later released it — is not in the list given for the arrangements but is expected to grace the occasion.
Capt Amarinder’s relative and hill state’s Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh would also be attending the ceremony, besides father-son duo from J&K. Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, who lost the state polls contested in alliance with the Congress, is too expected to reach Chandigarh for the event.
Among others, former Union Ministers P Chidambaram, Salman Khurshid, Ajay Maken, Ambika Soni, Anand Sharma, Kapil Sibal, M Veerappa Moily, Milind Murli Deora, Sachin Pilot, Renuka Chaudhary, Oscar Fernandes, Mukul Wasnik, and Mallika Arjun Khadge are expected to attend the swearing in.
Bollywood actor and senior Congress leader Raj Babbar is also scheduled to reach for the swearing-in.
Unlike his predecessors, Capt Amarinder opted for a low-key ceremony, while also asking his fellow MlAs to keep their invites and celebrations to bare minimum.
He has made it amply clear that in the light of the State's fiscal situation, he did not want any unnecessary or wasteful expenditure to be incurred on the swearing-in ceremony.
SAD-BJP combine, on the other hand, spent massively on their oath-taking ceremonies in 2007 and also in 2012, and chose different venues—Mohali’s PCA Stadium, and CHappar Chiri, respectively — for the same.