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CHANDIGARH: Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh is learnt to have made a last-ditch effort to stall cricketer-turnedpolitician Navjot Singh Sidhu’s possible elevation as the Punjab Congress chief by expressing his reservations in a letter to Sonia Gandhi. It came on a day when Sidhu met Sonia in Delhi. AICC in-charge of Punjab affairs Harish Rawat will now come to meet Amarinder on Saturday in what is being seen as a bid to placate him.
Sources said Amarinder on Friday sent a letter to Sonia expressing his reservations about Sidhu’s elevation by ignoring the old guard and how it would harm the party in the upcoming Assembly elections in 2022. Expressing his annoyance, Captain is also believed to have written that many Congress leaders may resign and the move to appoint Sidhu as the PPCC chief could even lead to a split in the party.
Sonia yet to decide on nuances of Punjab Cong overhaul, says Rawat
Amarinder also referred to the wrong message that Sidhu’s appointment would send out by having two Jat Sikhs at the helm (on the CM and PPCC chief posts). He is also believed to have given his view on Sidhu’s working style. Adding to the hectic political activity, CM’s OSD Narinder Bhambri paid a visit to 10 Janpath reportedly to deliver this letter.
Rawat, who too met Sonia and Rahul Gandhi along with Sidhu on Friday, told reporters, “I had come to submit my report. Congress president Sonia Gandhi is yet to decide on the nuances of the Punjab Congress overhaul formulation and the matter would be cleared only after she takes a final call.”
Sidhu’s supporters had been upbeat ever since he was called to meet Sonia and there were reports of preparations for his grand welcome and celebrations in Amritsar and Chandigarh were afoot for Saturday.
Since it is believed that Amarinder is not on board with the plan to accommodate Sidhu, the CM-camp went into a tizzy as political developments unfolded through the day.
Meanwhile, the appointment of at least two working presidents to give a fair representation to Dalit and Hindu leaders at the top positions is another issue the party continued to work on. Sources said Amarinder has been keen on the names of Anandpur Sahib MP Manish Tewari or cabinet minister Vijay Inder Singla and either Jalandhar MP Santokh Chowdhary or MLA Raj Kumar Chhabewal.
Party leaders are curiously watching how Amarinder will react since he had publicly said earlier that the proposal to appoint Sidhu as the Punjab Congress chief was not acceptable to him. There were reports of meetings by groups of MLAs in Chandigarh to discuss the turn of events.
“Despite the wide-open rift between the two leaders, the party’s central leadership is still hopeful of coming up with an arrangement that could make both leaders work together for the next elections. The parallel meetings by Amarinder and Sidhu on Friday are indicative of the impending fissures in the party,” said a Congress leader.
Sonia faces an uphill task of balancing the two forces that are already pulling in different directions. The elaborate exercise through a three-member AICC panel to take feedback from Punjab Congress leaders has failed to make them put up a united face.
Tensions had peaked on Thursday over the reported change with both Amarinder and Sidhu rounding up MLAs and ministers on their side and going into separate meetings, which were termed “routine” get-togethers.
Sources said Amarinder on Friday sent a letter to Sonia expressing his reservations about Sidhu’s elevation by ignoring the old guard and how it would harm the party in the upcoming Assembly elections in 2022. Expressing his annoyance, Captain is also believed to have written that many Congress leaders may resign and the move to appoint Sidhu as the PPCC chief could even lead to a split in the party.
Sonia yet to decide on nuances of Punjab Cong overhaul, says Rawat
Amarinder also referred to the wrong message that Sidhu’s appointment would send out by having two Jat Sikhs at the helm (on the CM and PPCC chief posts). He is also believed to have given his view on Sidhu’s working style. Adding to the hectic political activity, CM’s OSD Narinder Bhambri paid a visit to 10 Janpath reportedly to deliver this letter.
Rawat, who too met Sonia and Rahul Gandhi along with Sidhu on Friday, told reporters, “I had come to submit my report. Congress president Sonia Gandhi is yet to decide on the nuances of the Punjab Congress overhaul formulation and the matter would be cleared only after she takes a final call.”
Sidhu’s supporters had been upbeat ever since he was called to meet Sonia and there were reports of preparations for his grand welcome and celebrations in Amritsar and Chandigarh were afoot for Saturday.
Since it is believed that Amarinder is not on board with the plan to accommodate Sidhu, the CM-camp went into a tizzy as political developments unfolded through the day.
Meanwhile, the appointment of at least two working presidents to give a fair representation to Dalit and Hindu leaders at the top positions is another issue the party continued to work on. Sources said Amarinder has been keen on the names of Anandpur Sahib MP Manish Tewari or cabinet minister Vijay Inder Singla and either Jalandhar MP Santokh Chowdhary or MLA Raj Kumar Chhabewal.
Party leaders are curiously watching how Amarinder will react since he had publicly said earlier that the proposal to appoint Sidhu as the Punjab Congress chief was not acceptable to him. There were reports of meetings by groups of MLAs in Chandigarh to discuss the turn of events.
“Despite the wide-open rift between the two leaders, the party’s central leadership is still hopeful of coming up with an arrangement that could make both leaders work together for the next elections. The parallel meetings by Amarinder and Sidhu on Friday are indicative of the impending fissures in the party,” said a Congress leader.
Sonia faces an uphill task of balancing the two forces that are already pulling in different directions. The elaborate exercise through a three-member AICC panel to take feedback from Punjab Congress leaders has failed to make them put up a united face.
Tensions had peaked on Thursday over the reported change with both Amarinder and Sidhu rounding up MLAs and ministers on their side and going into separate meetings, which were termed “routine” get-togethers.
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