Capt vs Sidhu: Poster war erupts in Patiala amid Cong infighting

Similar hoardings projecting the CM and the cricketer-turned-politician taller than the other also surface in Ludhiana, Amritsar and other major cities

The ongoing squabbling in the Punjab Congress has turned into a poster war in Patiala and other Punjab cities, with supporters of chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh and party MLA Navjot Singh Sidhu trying to outdo each other by projecting their leaders as taller than the other.

Hoardings of Punjab CM Amarinder Singh in Patiala on Sunday. (Keshav Singh)

Patiala, the hometown of both Amarinder and Sidhu, is dotted with posters and hoardings projecting the CM as the “tallest Congress leader” in Punjab, while the supporters of the MLA projected him as “next generation leader”.

The posters hailing the CM titled as ‘Punjab da ik hi Captain’ with hashtag ‘Captain for 2022’. They project Amarinder as the Congress’ face for the 2022 assembly polls. Similar posters are put up in Ludhiana, Amritsar and other major cities saying, ‘There is only one Captain” or “Our slogan Captain again’.

On the other hand, the supporters of the cricketer-turned-politician projected Sidhu as Amarinder’s replacement in the Punjab Congress.

‘Saara Punjab Sidhu de naal (entire Punjab stands with Sidhu) read posters put up across the Patiala assembly segment, which is represented by the CM. They further read “Kisan di awaaz. Punjab mangda hai Guru di beadbi da hisab (Sidhu is the voice of farmers and Punjab demands answers for the sacrilege incidents).

Sidhu, who represents the Amritsar (East) segment in the state assembly, is camping at his ancestral home in Patiala since January.

Due to Sidhu’s repeated outbursts against him, the CM has accused the former local bodies minister of hobnobbing with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and challenged him to contest from the Patiala assembly seat. Even Amarinder’s wife and MP Preneet Kaur had advised the Sidhu couple to concentrate on the welfare of people of their constituency in Amritsar in Covid-19 time.

“The posters put up by Sidhu’s supporters indicate that he has decided to take the CM head on. Otherwise, no leader would dare to challenge Amarinder by putting up posters in Patiala,” said a local Congress leader.