Congress Punjab puzzle likely to be resolved soon

The Congress crisis in Punjab appeared to be turning into a jigsaw puzzle with Captain Amarinder Singh reiterating that he would abide by whatever party chief Sonia Gandhi decides even as his detractor Navjot Sidhu was on a meeting spree with state leaders including PPC chief Sunil Jakhar.

Party sources said the resolution is likely to be as early as today evening.

After Amarinder's angry letter addressed to Sonia Gandhi that appointing Sidhu as PPC chief could hurt the party's prospects in the upcoming polls, AICC general secretary in-charge for Punjab Harish Rawat rushed to Chandigarh to mollify him. After meeting Singh, Rawat told reporters that the CM reiterated his earlier stand that he will abide by Gandhi's decision.

The Chief Minister's media advisor later put out a tweet quoting the CM saying that he had a fruitful meeting with Rawat. The CM also reportedly raised issues that Rawat said will be taken up with the Congress President.

A party MLA in Punjab downplayed the row between the CM and Sidhu, asking to see the letter wherein "the Captain said I do not accept Sidhu, where is the letter that Sidhu has appointed PPCC chief?"

'Punjab Congress crisis to be resolved soon, Sidhu to head state party unit'

Congress spokesperson Javeer Shergil said, "Amarinder Singh is the Captain of the Congress party in Punjab. Any change in the batting and bowling order will be only in consultation with him." He said both Captain and Sidhu are gladiators of the Congress party and they will work together to steer the party to victory.

Rawat reached Chandigarh in a chopper around noon and then went straight to the chief minister’s farmhouse in Mohali, where the leaders were closeted for an hour as the central leadership was keen to placate the Captain. Opposing Sidhu's appointment, Captain has advanced the argument of representation to all social groups saying that he and Sidhu both belong to the Jat Sikh community, which may not go down well with other social groups.

In a surprise move, Sidhu on Saturday went to meet state party chief Sunil Jakhar in Panchkula and hailed the latter as his "elder brother and a guiding force" while Jakhar called Sidhu a "capable" man. Sidhu is also learnt to have met Punjab ministers Sukhjinder Randhawa and Tript Rajinder Bajwa and some more MLAs while the CM met with a larger contingent of party MPs, MLAs and ministers.

Sidhu, who joined Congress in 2017 after a three-year stint with BJP, got close to Rahul Gandhi, whom he hailed as "my Captain". However, he got into multiple rows with him including in 2018 when he visited Pakistan and hugged Pakistan Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa, which was strongly denounced by the Chief Minister.

Punjab Congress crisis deepens: A look at how relation between Captain Amarinder Singh and Navjot Singh Sidhu turned sour

The names of minister Vijay Inder Singla and MP Santokh Chaudhary were doing the rounds for the post of working presidents. Singla or Manish Tewari are also Captain's choices for PPCC chief. The speculation about Sidhu being made party chief gained all the more traction after he met Sonia Gandhi in Delhi on Friday hours after Rawat's remarks suggesting that Sidhu is in for a big role in the party.

Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari, close to Captain earlier tweeted that balancing social interest groups is key and equality is the foundation of social justice while giving demographic details of Punjab — Sikhs constitute 57.75 per cent of the population, while Hindus and Dalits constitute 38.49. Of these, Dalits divided into both groups are 31.94 per cent. His tweet was interpreted as making a case for a Hindu President. The party earlier planned two working Presidents, one from an upper-caste Hindu group and one from Dalits.

Congress leader and chairman of Punjab Large Industrial Development Board Pawan Dewan tweeted "Punjab Congress president — Jat Sikh (if Sidhu is made state Congress chief). CM — Jat Sikh. Punjab Youth Congress President — Jat Sikh Campaign Committee Chairman — Jat Sikh, Hindu kaha hai (where is the representation of the Hindu community)?" he tweeted.

A three-member panel headed by Mallikarjun Kharge, Rawat and senior leader J P Agrawal has already submitted a report to the party chief on the Punjab infighting underlining the need to resolve the dispute and hit the campaign trail soon.