After the fatal performance, the post-mortem! Days after the Congress party virtually faced political annihilation in Punjab, its leaders on Tuesday carried out a detailed dissection of the debacle, slinging the mud of humiliation at each other and blaming, among other things, timing of Capt Amarinder Singh’s ouster from the Chief Minister’s post.
Former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, State Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, and senior leader Sunil Jakhar too took the direct hit for singing different tunes as a part of the same choir.
At the same time, Congress president Sonia Gandhi has asked Sidhu to submit his resignation to facilitate the reorganisation of the State party unit.
Congress in Punjab could secure just 18 seats, with the Aam Aadmi Party sweeping the Assembly polls with a thumping majority of 92 seats in the 117-member House.
As the Congress State leadership met on Tuesday to discuss the “reasons” for the poll debacle, the party leaders lashed out at the top three leaders — Channi, Sidhu and Jakhar — for openly speaking against one another in the run-up to polls. Demands for ousting Channi, removing Sidhu as PPCC chief, fixing accountability were raised during the meeting of contesting candidates called by the State party affairs in-charge Harish Choudhary at Punjab Congress Bhawan on Tuesday to introspect on the party’s drubbing.
“This was expected. Many leaders want to replace Sidhu as they believe that he did not work the way a party president should have during the elections. He was continuously questioning his own party’s government, he was pointing fingers at the Chief Minister... and there is no doubt that the Congress has to face defeat because of that,” a senior party leader, who was part of the manthan, told The Pioneer while reacting to Sonia’s decision to seek Sidhu’s resignation.
Sources in the party maintained that after the poll defeat, Choudhary himself was in favour to remove Sidhu as the State party chief. Besides, party’s Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu and even Channi are believed to have called for replacing Sidhu with new party chief.
Congress’ former MLA Gurpreet Singh GP, who lost the Bassi Pathana seat to AAP candidate, squarely blamed Channi for the party’s crushing defeat in the polls. “Had the Congress announced Sidhu as the party’s chief ministerial face, it would have won at least 50 seats...Channi is the only reason for the party’s defeat. People did not like Channi as the CM face at all...He could not handle his own family, how can we expect him to handle the entire state,” said Gurpreet Singh, in a clear reference to Channi’s younger brother contesting elections against him as an Independent candidate from Bassi Pathana.
Demanding Channi’s expulsion from the party, he alleged that the announcements made by Channi could not be implemented. “Rahul Gandhi was misled to declare Channi as the Chief Ministerial face,” he added.
Joining in, former MLA and party candidate from Baghapurana Darshan Singh Brar also said that Channi should leave the Congress. “The main reason is the lack of coordination between the top leaders — Sidhu, Channi, and also Jakhar...Every day they all come up with different statements, attacking one another,” he added.
Former Minister and Gidderbaha MLA Amarinder Singh Raja Warring added that the “indiscipline in the party, intense infighting led to party’s defeat. And because of this, the people of Punjab felt that we are non-serious”.