Dissidence woes mount for Congress

The Congress is under siege on multiple fronts, battling dissidence in three states — Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Meghalaya — in a reflection of the state of affairs in the party.

As Congress grappled with the crisis in Punjab, trouble was brewing in Chhattisgarh, with MLAs loyal to Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel camping in Delhi to thwart any attempts at a leadership change.

If that wasn't enough, the party in Meghalaya was on the verge of implosion as disgruntled legislators were all set to join the Trinamool Congress.

In Punjab, Navjot Singh Sidhu — who recently quit as the party unit chief after succeeding in ousting Amarinder Singh from the chief minister's post — vowed allegiance to Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra "post or no post". His remarks came after the party said it would take a decision on Sidhu's resignation soon.

Read | Congress leaders cannot even coordinate their lies properly: Amarinder Singh

“Will uphold principles of Gandhi Ji & Shastri Ji … Post or No Post will stand by Rahul Gandhi & Priyanka Gandhi! Let all negative forces try to defeat me, but with every ounce of positive energy will make Punjab win, Punjabiyat (Universal Brotherhood) win & every Punjabi win,” Sidhu tweeted.

But the last word hasn't been said on the political drama in the poll-bound state. The Congress is keen to retain Sidhu as the Punjab Congress chief and fight the upcoming Assembly polls with him at the helm despite opposition from a section of the state leaders.

In Chhattisgarh, the Congress is in a fix over the reported power-sharing agreement between Baghel and Health Minister T S Singhdeo. The two leaders met Rahul recently amid indications that the chief minister may have to make way for Singhdeo.

Read | Sonia Gandhi did not remove Amarinder as Punjab CM, 78 Congress MLAs did: Surjewala

While Singhdeo awaited a decision from the leadership quietly, MLAs loyal to the chief minister have been camping in Delhi to ensure there is no leadership change in the state.

Amid the developments, Baghel was appointed as AICC's senior observer for the Uttar Pradesh elections early next year. Baghel had played a similar role in the Assam assembly elections, helping the party energise booth level workers.

In Meghalaya, former chief minister Mukul Sangma and a group of MLAs were unhappy over the appointment of former Union Minister Vincent Pala as the state Congress chief.

Reports had it that Sangma, leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly, had a meeting with Trinamool Congress general secretary in Kolkata recently.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi has summoned Sangma to Delhi on Sunday to avert a “Punjab-like crisis” in the north-eastern hill state.

Sangma and a few disgruntled MLAs are expected to meet Sonia and decide on their future course of action later.

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