With the Congress high command yet to declare its chief ministerial candidate in Punjab, its State unit chief Capt Amarinder Singh on Tuesday maintained that the party’s president Sonia Gandhi will decide on the chief ministerial face for the Punjab Assembly polls.
At the same time, the former Chief Minister also made it clear that “no deal” has been struck with the new entrant Navjot Singh Sidhu. “There is no deal with Navjot Sidhu, the Congress doesn’t do deals with anybody,” said Capt Amarinder while addressing media in Patiala before filing his nomination papers for the Patiala Urban Assembly seat.
Other than Patiala urban, Capt Amarinder will also fight from lambi, the home constituency of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.
Responding to a query whether Sidhu will be offered an important post if the party wins the Assembly polls, he said, “He has never said anything like that (there has been no talk in this regard with Sidhu).”
Capt Amarinder, when asked if he would be the Chief Ministerial candidate, said, “I don’t know…that is Congress president’s decision.” He quipped, “The entire campaign is being handled by me and
then you are asking me this question.”
Notably, the entire election campaign was planned keeping Capt Amarinder in focus right from the beginning — Coffee with Captain, Halke Wich Kaptan, among others.
Capt Amarinder said the former BJP MP Sidhu had himself stated that he was a “born Congressman…His father too belonged to the party…I have known the family for a very long time. I have been watching Navjot Sidhu since his youth when he used to play cricket at Patiala. He has himself described his joining the Congress as his ghar vapsi (homecoming),” he said.
Explaining his “conspicuous absence” when cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu joined the party, Capt Amarinder said, “Should I be there (in Delhi) or campaign in PunjabIJ I have just 12-14 days left (for campaigning)…The whole campaign is on me, why are you asking this question.”
Capt Amarinder said he and the cricketer-turned-politician would be campaigning for the party through a joint road show in Amritsar on January 19. He reiterated that Sidhu would be a star campaigner for the Congress in the Punjab polls.
The former Chief Minister also said he will defeat SAD patron and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on his home turf, lambi, in his last election.
“I started my political career from here and will end it here as it is my last elections. But over there (in lambi), I want to teach Badals a lesson because they have destroyed Punjab. I want to defeat Badal,” he said.
Trashing AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal’s charge that he was fighting from Parkash Singh Badal’s home turf of lambi to help the Chief Minister win, Capt Amarinder challenged him to enter the electoral contest in the constituency.
Dismissing Kejriwal’s charge as ludicrous, Amarinder added, “First he said I should fight Badal and now he says I’m helping the Chief Minister by contesting against him.”
He also challenged Delhi Chief Minister to take on Badal from lambi. “Kejriwal will know his position and where he stands,” he said.
Also ruling out an alliance with any party, he said, “The Congress will win the elections on its own. We will get clear majority.”