Sidhu is now at the end of his political career without even formally starting it

Twitter handle of Captain Amarinder Singh’s Punjab Lok Congress is on a trolling spree. The party’s Twitter handle is filled with memes and witty remarks regarding the declaration of Charanjit Singh Channi as the Punjab Chief Ministerial candidate by Rahul Gandhi. 

 #CurtainsForSidhu on is trending on Twitter. For Amarinder Singh, not letting Sidhu become Punjab’s Chief Minister has been a top priority. But guess what, Captain has won the fight even before it begins. But what does it mean for Navjot Singh Sidhu? 

Sidhu has been around for quite some time. And we have known him in many ways- as a cricketer, as a judge in comedy shows and above all, as a politician. Sidhu never had a dearth of career options to choose from. But in 2004, he chose to make an entry into politics as a BJP leader. 

From 2004 to 2014, Sidhu represented the Amritsar Lok Sabha constituency. Thereafter, he joined the Congress and fast forward to 2022, he seemed on course to be declared as the party’s Punjab CM candidate. But as it turns out, Channi has been chosen over Sidhu. 

Sidhu’s big political ambitions

2017 was a big turning point in Sidhu’s career. He left the BJP, joined the Congress, and won the Assembly polls from Amritsar East constituency quite comfortably. He was even made a Minister in the Amarinder Singh government at the time and it seemed that Sidhu’s political career was rising all of a sudden. 

Winning favour with the party high command

Then, he had a tiff with Captain Amarinder Singh, and the party high command seemed to favour Sidhu over the former CM. Ultimately, Sidhu was made the Punjab PPC [Pradesh Congress Committee] chief, and Singh resigned as the Punjab CM. 

Captain Amarinder Singh parted ways with the Congress, and it seemed that there was no stopping Sidhu’s political ascend. After all, if the party high command had favoured Sidhu over a political heavyweight like Amarinder Singh, it was supposed to mean something. It was time for Sidhu to eye a bigger role ahead of the Punjab Assembly polls in 2022. 

Yes, Channi was made the Chief Minister after Singh left. But it seemed more like a stop-gap arrangement ahead of the Assembly polls. Sidhu’s retention as the Punjab PPC chief also suggested that he wielded a good amount of influence within the party. 

Also Read: Girish Mahajan Biography, Career and Elections

Channi declared CM candidate

Sidhu’s meteoric political rise has however witnessed an anti-climactic conclusion. On Sunday, Rahul Gandhi declared incumbent Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi as the CM candidate for the upcoming Punjab Assembly polls. 

Gandhi said, “It is a decision of Punjab. It is not my decision. I haven’t decided. I asked workers, candidates, MLAs, people, the youth of Punjab..what people said has led me to my final decision.”

So, despite all the excitement that had started building up, Sidhu won’t even be contesting for the top post in the state. The party high command did favour Sidhu over Singh, but it seems that now Channi is being favoured over Sidhu. 

Sidhu, who is no longer a CM hopeful, is now supposed to endorse the party’s decision and he did so by backing the newly-declared CM candidate and raising his hand in jubilation. Thereafter, all three leaders- Rahul Gandhi, Sidhu and Channi were seen group hugging.

Also, Channi touched Sidhu’s feet and said, “Sidhu ji, Jo tusi karna chahte ho, tusi karoge (Whatever you want to do, you’ll do). Your model will be implemented.” So, Sidhu has become the symbolic party senior who will command respect from everyone including Channi. But Channi is the one given the leadership role. 

Now, if you take a look at Punjab politics, Channi has emerged as the CM candidate for Punjab Congress and Captain Amarinder Singh is the undeclared candidate of the BJP+ alliance. So, both of them have gained something. Sidhu however has lost the CM fight even before it started.