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Battle for 2022 Punjab polls: Sidhu-Amarinder bad blood roils Congress
Key political players have warmed up to the 2022 poll slugfest which is expected to be a multi-cornered affair—unlike the triangular contest in 2017 — in Punjab this time. HT takes a look at battle readiness of Congress and analyses its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the run-up to the assembly elections
The Congress is in the throes of a bitter infighting in Punjab with less than five months to go for the assembly elections.
The dramatis personae in the tussle for control of the party are incumbent chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh (79) and his bête noire, newly appointed Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu (57). Amarinder, who had declared the 2017 battle in which he led the Congress to a near two-thirds to be his last one, is now raring to have another go, whereas Sidhu has never cloaked his ambition and pictures himself as the natural claimant to the mantle of the chief minister if the party retains power in the upcoming polls.
The cricketer-turned-politician was appointed the state president on July 18, ignoring the CM’s opposition to his elevation.
The feud, fuelled by their competing ambitions, has left the state unit, particularly ministers and legislators, divided, making the party cadre becoming apprehensive about its impact on electoral prospects. To make matters worse, Sidhu and Amarinder have continued to indulge in one-upmanship, rarely letting go of any opportunity to pull each other down.
“The way things stand, there appears to be a little chance of them (Capt and Sidhu) joining hands. There is fear among many party leaders that the worst is still to come,” said a senior Congress leader, blaming a litany of self-goals for the present turmoil.
The political landscape seemed highly favourable to the Congress until the Punjab and Haryana high court quashed the special investigation report (SIT) report in the 2015 Kotkapura police firing case on April 9. The legal setback opened Pandora’s box in the Congress as Sidhu along with some party ministers and MLAs questioned the CM’s handling of the sensitive case related to the emotive sacrilege and police firing issues.
The blame game quickly escalated into a full-blown war between Capt and Sidhu with allegations flying thick and fast. The Congress high command, particularly general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and former president Rahul Gandhi, backed the cricketer-turned-politician and named him the state chief, but not before a public spectacle played out live on TV by parading party leaders, including Amarinder, before a three-member central committee.
Though the high command expected the situation to ameliorate, it has not got any better. An 18-point agenda, based on issues listed by Sidhu and other disgruntled leaders, was handed by the central leadership to Amarinder for implementation, denting the narrative spun by him on fulfillment of most of the election promises.
The detractors are now trying to pin the chief minister down for not doing enough on these “priority points”, including sacrilege and police firing cases, action in drug rackets and scrapping of power purchase agreements (PPAs). The newly appointed state party chief’s handpicked advisers’ statements on Kashmir and Pakistan also added fuel to the fire.
A senior Congress leader said the only thing still keeping the party (Congress) in contention is that its rivals Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have been in disarray. “They (opposition parties) are still grappling with their own sets of problems. We have made far too many mistakes and need to make amends sooner than later,” he said on condition of anonymity. Till then, it is Congress-versus-Congress.
