The appointment of a new Congress team in Punjab has brought the focus back on Navjot Singh Sidhu. All eyes are on him now as he mulls his future course of action, though he had on many occasions stated that he would remain a loyal soldier of the Congress irrespective of a post or not.
The Congress high command was not willing to let him stay as the Punjab unit chief after the disastrous show in the recently-concluded assembly elections. Sidhu’s frequent run-ins with former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi in the run-up to the assembly elections were identified as contributing factors for the party’s debacle.
Sidhu was appointed Punjab Congress President on July 18, amid his tussle with Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, who was forced to step down two months later on September 18.
On September 28 Sidhu sent his resignation letter to Gandhi after he was apparently upset over the non-inclusion of some of his loyalists in Channi’s council of ministers. “The collapse of a man’s character stems from the compromise corner, I can never compromise on Punjab’s future and the agenda for the welfare of Punjab,” Sidhu wrote, but insisted that he will continue to serve the Congress.
However, the Congress high command rejected his offer to resign, and assured him that his grievances would be addressed.
Sidhu’s tantrums continued till the elections and after that as well. After the Congress’ humiliating defeat, Sidhu lauded the AAP’s historic victory, calling it a great decision by the people of Punjab. This after he lost the elections from Amritsar East.
It is well known in Congress circles that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was instrumental in getting Sidhu into the party, and later appointed as the Punjab unit chief, despite stiff resistance from the state leadership, which considered him an outsider, and highly unreliable. He has often called Vadra his inspiration who stood by him in adverse times, and the driving force behind him joining the Congress.
Sidhu had joined the grand old party in January 2017 after he quit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) following differences over continuation in its alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). After the Congress came to power in 2017, Sidhu became a minister, but quit the post two years later after being continuously at loggerheads with Amarinder Singh.
On April 9, Sonia Gandhi handed over the reins of the Punjab Congress to Amarinder Singh Brar alias Raja Warring, and named former Rajya Sabha member Partap Singh Bajwa as the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader, who will also be the next Leader of the Opposition. While Bharat Bhushan Ashu was appointed as the working president, Raj Kumar Chabbewal would be the deputy CLP leader in the Punjab assembly.
Warring's appointment has visibly come as a jolt to Sidhu who was hoping that the party might once again repose the trust in him. This also means that Sidhu will have no organisation role in Punjab now, triggering speculation that he might be given a key assignment at the national level. But there is a big question mark on whether he would accept it given that he had repeatedly voiced his desire to pursue his politics in Punjab.
With its proposed move to shift him to the All India Congress Committee (AICC), the leadership will try to give the new Punjab team a free hand in reorganising the state unit.
The party fears that Sidhu’s temperament, and regular interference in the decision-making would impede the revival process, and lead to further tensions in the state unit. He is perceived to a troublemaker and hence the new state leadership would be happy to see him out of Punjab.
As all eyes are on his next step, it remains to be seen whether Sidhu keeps his word of standing by the Gandhi siblings, or explore other options by exiting the Congress.
If he leaves the Congress, it will be interesting to see if AAP will be his next stop, or will he circle his way back to the BJP, now that the BJP-SAD alliance is no more.
As of now, the AAP would like to keep the focus on governance and not disturb its present structure, but the BJP is certainly looking for a known face to emerge as a key player in Punjab. Will that be Sidhu?
Aurangzeb Naqshbandi is a senior journalist who has been covering the Congress for 15 years, and is currently associated with Pixstory.
Views are personal and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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