Right after Amarinder Singh along with his council of Ministers gave their resignation on Saturday, the Congress high command approached Senior Congress leader Ambika Soni to take over as next Chief Minister of Punjab. However, being a staunch supporter of Amarinder, Ambika has turned down the offer. Moreover, she knows what even the Gandhis cannot think of, as the party lacks political acumen.
Read more: Punjab’s Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has resigned
Ambika refused to become the next Chief Minister
While interacting with media, Ambika Soni stated, “I have turned down the offer (to become the next chief minister of Punjab). In Chandigarh, the party’s meeting is going and the general secretary and observers are taking the opinion of all the MLAs in writing.” Moreover, in an answer to a question that asked if the Congress high command had accepted her decision to deny being the next Punjab Chief Minister, she said, “When I explained my point of view to the party leader, they took my views.”
She further added, “It has been my belief, not from today but since the past 50 years, that the main face or the chief minister of Punjab should be a Sikh. It is the only state in the country where Sikhs can be made a chief minister.”
Congress trying to soothe Amarinder through Ambika
Interestingly, the Congress high command, which assumed to install Sunil Jhakar as next Chief Minister of the state, offered Ambika Soni to take over as she is considered to be a member of pro-Amarinder club. The Congress high command seemingly made this move to soothe Amarinder after the humiliation he had to face from the party. With Ambika installed as the Chief Minister, the party aimed at Amarinder to stay within the party, as there are speculations that he might leave the party to join BJP.
Ambika knows what Gandhis don’t
However, Ambika’s refusal to take over as Chief Minister comes from the fact that she is well versed with the power of Amarinder in the state. She knows that Captain is the political king of Punjab and without him, the 2022 election would appear to be a lost battle for the Congress party. Moreover, she clearly knows that if the party loses in the upcoming Assembly elections of Punjab, the blame would entirely be on her and not on Sidhu or the party’s other negligible political acumen. Thus, she has smartly cornered herself from the mess, ahead of Punjab elections.
Furthermore, with her induction as Chief Minister, PCC Chief Navjot Singh Sidhu (who has been an arch rival of Amarinder and all his supporters) might have made it quite difficult for her to work for the state, given his unruly and rash rivalry with the Captain.
Read more: Can Amarinder Singh join the BJP now?
However, there are speculations that Amarinder might join the BJP or can float his own party in order to take his revenge for the humiliation he had to go through ever since Sidhu has been inducted as PCC chief. In both the scenarios, BJP will be benefitted – Captain’s entry into the BJP will strengthen the party’s position in the state, while if he opts to float a new party, he will cut the vote share of both the Congress and Akali Dal, which eventually will go in favour of BJP.