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Building bridges with Capt, putting Congress’s house in order key challenges for Sidhu
Two-month-long factional war has made cadres and leaders apprehensive about the party’s poll prospects
Former minister Navjot Singh Sidhu has been keen to head the Punjab Congress to set himself up for the chief minister’s post if the party wins in 2022.
On Sunday, he was named president of the state unit by the Congress leadership despite a stiff opposition from chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh. The elevation has come as a huge boost for the cricketer-turned-politician who is considered close to former party president Rahul Gandhi and general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
But there are several challenges tied to the reins of the party and the state polls are just seven months away. The first and foremost task before the 57-year-old Amritsar East MLA is to build bridges with the veteran leader who is angry over the former’s “derogatory” tweets and remarks against him.
Amarinder had told All India Congress Committee general secretary in-charge of Punjab affairs Harish Rawat, who informed him about the impending changes, on Saturday that he would meet Sidhu only after a public apology from him. Sidhu had, in his tweets and interviews, accused Capt of colluding with the Badals and allowing mafia raj.
Accompanied by a few young MLAs, Sidhu traveled to Chandigarh and Mohali and visited several party leaders on Monday, but he has not responded to the CM’s demand as a public apology would mean recantation of his accusations. The former minister will need to find a way to reach out to the CM to mend relations with him for cohesion, not just the customary photo-op, now that he heads the state unit, said two senior party leaders.
Former Union minister Ashwani Kumar said this is a time to be united and reconciliation is the way forward, appealing to both sides to show magnanimity. The two-month-long factional war, which saw a number of other seniors, including some ministers, MPs and some traditional Congressmen, oppose his promotion, has made the cadres and leaders apprehensive about the party’s poll prospects.
The Congress’ rivals, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), are already sensing an opportunity in the Congress infighting.
Though the former TV commentator is a tireless campaigner with crowd-pulling capacity, he will need to take everyone along, besides addressing issues related to caste and religious equations, to build a winning campaign. Both Amarinder and Sidhu are Jat Sikhs and belong to Patiala. The party high command has also attempted to strike a balance by appointing four working presidents. Another challenge that he faces now is his position on issues, including Bargari sacrilege, drugs, mafia and power purchase agreements (PPAs), on which he attacked the government.
“The question is will he (Sidhu) continue to target the CM or focus on poll agenda and preparations? The onus is on him. A party is like a cart pulled by two bulls. If they start pulling it in different directions, it gets stuck,” said one of the leaders quoted above. Also, the new job will put to test his organisational and election management capabilities like never before.
