For the first time, the Congress and the People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) will share a common platform to fight against a familiar foe.
Finding itself unable to tackle the rivals alone, the Congress has joined hands with the PPP, the formal announcement of which is expected to be made on Tuesday during a joint Press conference at Chandigarh Press Club.
Manpreet, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s estranged nephew, is set to contest from Bathinda seat against his sister-in-law and sitting MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal in alliance with the Congress.
The decision has already irked many Congressmen and also the PPP leaders. In fact, the Congress leaders and workers in Bathinda has raised a banner of revolt against Manpreet’s candidature, while ignoring their years’ of hard work.
As a result of this, Congress sitting MlA from Talwandi Sabo, in Bathinda district, Jeet Mohinder Sidhu has joined the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) last week
Upset over the “deal”, Sidhu decided to part ways with the Congress for “ignoring the party workers”, and accused the State party chief Partap Singh Bajwa of relegating him to a position of playing second fiddle making matters worse for the party in Bathinda — known as Badal’s citadel.
It has been learnt that senior Congress leaders had made every possible effort to convince Sidhu into accepting party's alliance with Manpreet for Bathinda seat, that all went in vain.
This is not all! PPP leader Bhagwant Mann has also revolted over Manpreet’s decision to join hand with the congress and resigned from the party and joined the Aam Aadmi Party. He has now been fielded from Sangrur as AAP candidate. The party’s decision to place its bet on Manpreet has attracted criticism from party’s senior leadership too, including former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, and former MP Jagmeet Brar.
While Amarinder made it clear that the Congress would “hardly gain anything” by the move to join hands with the PPP chief, Brar took up the issue with the party high command revolting against Manpreet’s candidature.
Amarinder had pointed that out of collective votes to the Sanjha Morcha — 5.5 per cent, 3.5 per cent was left parties’ share, while the PPP has just two per cent of votes that too owing to “media hype” that projected Manpreet as the “next Chief Minister”.
Floated some three years back, the PPP failed to secure even single seat in the series of elections held during these years. The party failed to bag even one seat in 2012 Assembly polls, with Manpreet, who contested polls from two constituencies — his home ground Gidderbaha, and Maur Mandi — facing defeats.
On the other hand, Brar, who was the first to raise voice against alliance with Manpreet, has now taken a u-turn.
“When I took up the issue with the high command, I was told the issue was directly taken by the High Command on its own against my apprehensions that PPCC president has misinformed the high command, and I endorse what the party president Sonia Gandhi, and vice-president Rahul Gandhi has decided,” Brar told The Pioneer.
At the same time, Brar blamed Bajwa for the “revolt within the party’s Bathinda unit”. “It was the duty of the party president to have consented the local leadership before forging the alliance. A meeting should have been called of the MlAs, district party presidents, and should be taken into confidence,” he said, adding that in the present case, partymen has gone against Manpreet.
A day before the formal announcement, Brar has also expressed apprehensions over Manpreet contesting on PPP’s symbol. “It is to see who well the people would recognise the ‘kite’ symbol…I have written to the party high command to contest from Bathinda on its own symbol, that is hand,” he said.
Manpreet, who maintained that the decision was made for “party’s political survival”, has already made it clear that he would contest from Bathinda on party’s symbol.