In what looks like a game, set and match for Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, the rebellion manufactured by Navjot Singh Sidhu has been left in the doldrums. Reportedly, the Indian National Congress has decided to head into the 2022 Punjab elections with Amarinder Singh as the CM face thereby crashing Sidhu’s hopes of becoming the captain of Punjab.
In what looks like ominous signs for Team Sidhu in Punjab, The Print reports that the INC is all set to continue with Amarinder Singh as the CM and will head into the upcoming Punjab assembly elections with the Captain as its face.
After a three-hour-long meeting between Amarinder Singh and a three-member AICC panel in New Delhi, it was decided that Singh is Congress’ best bet heading into the Assembly polls thereby sidelining Sidhu and his rebellion.
The Print quoted an AICC member as saying, “It is true that there is no alternative to Captain and most MLAs don’t want to replace him. But at the same time, they have complained about his accessibility.” The member added, “A number of MLAs said they were unable to get an audience with him to get their local level works done. At the end of the day, an MLA is accountable to the people.”
During the meeting, Singh has been believed to put detailed answers to all questions put in front of him to resolve the crisis which is crippling the Punjab Congress. While Singh’s continuation is a bygone conclusion, the INC is planning a revamp in its state unit as most of the complaints were against state Congress president Sunil Jakhar.
An AICC functionary said, “In such a situation, there is a possibility of a new state president being appointed. The high command has to decide if a deputy chief minister is also needed to send a signal to different sections of the society, especially Dalits. But there is no question of replacing the Captain.”
However, Sidhu’s hopes of being appointed as Punjab Congress President are slim as Singh has not agreed to the appointment of Sidhu as PPCC President with a strong likelihood of a Hindu or Dalit face being appointed as the President, who will have Singh’s stamp of approval.
A Congress leader said, “As far as the case of Sidhu is concerned, he wants to be the new captain of Punjab Congress but he does not have a team right now. He has a long way to go.”
As Sidhu and his team hurtle towards political obscurity, it remains to be seen what will Sidhu’s next move be.
