The tussle between Navjot Sidhu and the Punjab CM seems to have subsided, at least for now
Things may finally be looking a bit brighter for the Congress in Punjab, which goes to elections in early 2022. Bogged by infighting between Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and his former Cabinet colleague Navjot Singh Sidhu, the party’s State unit had been sharply divided owing to the leadership tussle between the two leaders. However, according to reports, the disgruntled Sidhu finally managed to meet former party chief Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka in the Capital recently. It has been learnt that the compromise formula being worked out between the two leaders was for Sidhu to accept the post of the Deputy Chief Minister or the Punjab campaign committee incharge. There was also some speculation about Sidhu angling to head the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee but the idea of having two Jat Sikhs at the top two positions didn’t apparently find favour with the party’s leadership since that would have tilted the balance of power within the State’s organisation. Rahul is said to have conveyed to the disgruntled former Punjab Minister in no uncertain terms that Capt Amarinder is an “important leader of the party, a dedicated warhorse and quite senior both in terms of age and experience”.
However, it may still not be a smooth sail for the Congress. The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP has already started muddying the waters in the State’s politics with its pre-poll promise of 300 units of free electricity and waiver of the pending bills. Intriguingly, the promise had found mention in Punjab Congress’ last manifesto but apparently it was waiting for a time closer to the elections to make this announcement. And then there is the BJP and, to a limited extent, the BSP. They haven’t yet revealed their cards but at least the saffron party is quite capable of upsetting many an applecart just before any Assembly election. As regards the Congress, it appears that the current score between the incumbent Punjab Chief Minister and his baiter still remains tied: Though Sidhu did meet Rahul and Priyanka and managed to curry some favours, the former Congress president rallying behind the Captain clearly shows that Amarinder is still firmly in the saddle, at least until the elections are over, and that the high command has trust in his leadership as the Assembly polls loom on the horizon.