Is a change of guard imminent in Punjab?

A change of guard appeared imminent in Punjab Congress with indications emerging that Captain Amarinder Singh will step down, but there are serious questions over his bete noire Navjot Singh Sidhu replacing him.

Also, there is still no clarity about the time of such a change of guard as the party leadership is keen to avoid a spectacle ugly power fights and factional pulls and pressures. Much will depend on the Captain himself, who had time and again said he would abide by the decision of the high command.

Indications of a likely change in Congress state unit have emerged hours before the all important meeting of Congress legislature party in Chandigarh on Saturday evening, after 50 legislators wrote to the party high command seeking the Chief Minister's replacement.

While Punjab PCC chief Navjot Singh Sidhu received the party's central observer Ajay Maken at Chandigarh airport, there is a buzz that the party could go in for an interim Chief Minister for the time being.

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Ahead of the likely major shake up, the names of some leaders close to Amarinder Singh as his replacement were doing the rounds, but it remains to be seen whether the party would like to create another power centre in the already faction-ridden Punjab Congress unit just six months away from elections.

"There is no fight (koi ghamasan nahin hai). There is going to be a meeting of Congress legislature party," AICC general secretary and party's central observer for Punjab Maken said, parrying questions about a change of guard in Punjab.

In the 117-member Punjab Assembly, Congress had won 77 seats in 2017 under the leadership of Amarinder Singh.

The letter by 50 legislators to Sonia Gandhi seeking a change of guard was not the first development in this regard. Earlier, more than two dozen Congress legislators last month had raised the banner of revolt, and four ministers from Punjab government had met AICC in-charge for Punjab Harish Rawat, seeking the CM's replacement.

Rawat earlier this month said he can't say that all is well in Punjab Congress.

"I won't say all is well, but we are heading towards that. There are some issues, but we are towards their resolution. We are a political organisation. Issues come up, but they are resolved," Rawat had said.

Perhaps the party's central leadership realised that with both factions led by PCC chief Navjot Singh Sidhu and Captain Amarinder Singh toughening their stand, a final decision keeping in long term interests of the party is needed now.

Singh, who is the tallest leader of Congress, is 79 and there is a view in the party that Congress needs to look cultivating future leadership in the party and cannot allow the party to go astray as happened in Himachal Pradesh and Assam, where the party could not grow a second leadership.

However, the CM's loyalists in Punjab, many of whom are senior leaders, are not ready to accept the leadership of Sidhu, who came to Congress from BJP more than four and half years back.

With 50 MLAs writing to the party top brass against the CM's continuance, the writing on the wall appears getting clear to Captain himself, who has been a colossal figure in Punjab Congress for decades.

While there was no official confirmation, there was speculation that the Chief Minister spoke to the central leadership to voice his "anguish" over the "humiliation". Singh is also meeting MLAs close to him before the crucial CLP meeting.

Sidhu, who had quit the Punjab cabinet as a minister in 2019, had never left an opportunity to take potshots on Captain, his governments' policies and his style of functioning. Sidhu was made Punjab PCC chief in the third week of July, ignoring the objections from the Chief Minister and his camp followers, indicating that the party top brass is looking for a reboot in the state unit.

While Maken and Harish Chaudhary will attend the meeting as central observers, Rawat will also be present during the meeting. The leadership will be keen that the change of guard is a smooth affair.

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