Amarinder Singh’s ambition for a second term as Punjab chief minister is likely to come to an end with the selection of Navjot Singh Sidhu as the Congress’s Punjab unit president. Sidhu’s anointment suggests he could succeed Amarinder as chief minister if the party wins a majority in the next assembly elections in February.
On July 18, Sidhu was named chief of the Punjab Congress late at night. Sukhwinder Singh Danny, Sangat Singh Gilzian, Kuljit Singh Nagra, and Pawan Goel were named as working presidents by the party. They are Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi supporters, and none of them are affiliated with the Amarinder camp. In 2018, Gilzian, a backward class leader, resigned from all party positions, stating that Amarinder was snubbing his ambition for a ministerial position.
The Congress in Punjab has been battling the Amarinder-Sidhu feud for months, but the situation worsened on July 17 when the 79-year-old Amarinder flatly refused to accept the party’s formula of naming Sidhu as state unit chairman with four working presidents. Amarinder Singh should also select two deputy chief ministers before the assembly elections, according to the Congress.
The high command opposed the chief minister’s request to designate cabinet minister Vijay Inder Singla, Raj Kumar Chabbewal, Tarsem Singh DC, and Ajit Inder Singh Mofar as working presidents. Several state politicians opposed to Amarinder, including MPs, cabinet ministers, and MLAs, are opposed to Sidhu. They don’t have much of a choice, though, because the CM is vetoed by the high command.
After Sidhu’s appointment, Amarinder is rethinking his tactics. Except for Sidhu, who is the MLA for Amritsar East, he has invited all Punjab Congress MPs and MLAs to lunch at his home on July 21. On July 19, Amarinder had a conference with his supporters at his Siswan farmhouse, while Sidhu met with another group of MLAs and dissenting members of the Amarinder government at minister Tripat Rajinder Singh Bajwa’s official residence. However, some of these MLAs proceeded to the chief minister’s residence to attend his meeting, much to Sidhu’s chagrin. It definitely demonstrates that Amarinder isn’t out yet.
Amarinder had been attempting to persuade the Congress central leadership that Sidhu may defect to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which Sidhu refuted. Amarinder’s last-minute attempt to persuade the high command to select Partap Singh Bajwa, another of his opponents, as Punjab unit leader was refused. His previous request that Anandpur Sahib MP Manish Tewari be appointed to the position was also rejected.
Sidhu has been launching a barrage of accusations at Amarinder. He claims that the chief minister is attempting to secure a pardon for the Badal family in the investigation into police shootings of protesters in 2015 over the destruction of the Guru Granth Sahib, and that Amarinder failed to crack down on narcotics and illicit mining mafias.
Since 2018, Sidhu has been pursuing Amarinder and has refused to recognise his leadership. When he resigned from Amarinder’s government in June 2019, he sent his resignation to Rahul, not the chief minister. Amarinder has requested an apology from Sidhu for his anti-Amarinder tweets and interviews. That, however, is unlikely to occur.
The Congress’s preparations for the state elections would undoubtedly be hampered by the factional conflict. “Running an election campaign with such a muddled leadership will be impossible,” says a key Congress politician from the Amarinder camp, who asked to remain anonymous. For the Punjab Congress, Sidhu is a difficult choice. Rahul is personally ensuring that Sidhu receives the backing of his supporters, but the outcome remains to be seen. In the days ahead, the fight between Amarinder and Sidhu is likely to take new turns.
