Senior Congress leaders test leadership patience in Rajasthan, Punjab

Congress veterans are keeping the party leadership on tenterhooks as it tries to put its house in order in Rajasthan and Punjab.

The three-member panel on Punjab, headed by Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, met Rahul Gandhi on Sunday to brief him about the political situation in the state that goes to polls early next year.

The panel had recommended that Navjot Singh Sidhu be “suitably accommodated” in either the party or the government, leaving a final decision in the court of Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

Sidhu is eying the post of the Punjab Congress President, which Chief Minister Amarinder Singh is strongly opposed to.

Singh is also learnt to be reluctant on having Sidhu as the Deputy Chief Minister and at best would have him as a cabinet minister.

“It depends on how much the chief minister is willing to accommodate and how much Sidhu is ready to cede,” a Congress leader said adding both the leaders have taken “maximalist positions” against each other.

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In Rajasthan, Sachin Pilot, who had rebelled against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot wants to ensure respectable positions for his supporters in the state government and on boards and corporations.

Of the nine vacant ministerial slots, Pilot is learnt to be keen on having at least six for his supporters, which may not find favour with Gehlot who has to accommodate Independent MLAs supporting his government.

The leadership’s response to the two rumblings in the two states has also raised eyebrows.

It has been more than 10 months since Pilot was assured that his grievances against Gehlot would be addressed.

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Congress had formed a three-member panel comprising Ahmed Patel, K C Venugopal and Ajay Maken to resolve the Rajasthan crisis. However, since Patel’s death in November, the issue had been on the back burner leaving Pilot restless.

In the case of Sidhu, the action was swift with the Kharge-led panel meeting within a couple of days of its formation and embarking on consultation exercise with Punjab leaders soon after. The swift action in Punjab is attributed to the impending elections next year.

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