Bhattal is out, boost for Captain

The Congress high command removes senior leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal as Punjab PCC chief while retaining Mohinder Singh Kaypee as the acting PCC chief, reports Saroj Nagi.

The Congress high command on Wednesday removed senior leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal as Punjab PCC chief while retaining Mohinder Singh Kaypee, a low profile and non controvesial person as the acting PCC chief till a "further decision'' is taken on the issue.

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Bhattal, who was holding two posts till recently, will now remain Congress legislature party leader. Kaypee, on his part, was appointed working president last year when Bhattal was made PCC chief.

In the new set up, Amarinder stages a comeback, this time as head of the party's campaign committee for the Lok Sabha elections in the state where its two main leaders are at loggerheads with each other.

“The architecture of the changes worked out is intended to end the infighting so that the party is able to present a united face and cash on the anti-incumbency factor against the Akalis,'' said a Punjab leader.

The changes were announced after Amarinder called on Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday before she and her son Rahul Gandhi (along with Priyanka and Robert Vadra) left for Beijing for the Olympics. The new appointments are expected to give a social and regional balance to the deeply divided state unit. While Bhattal and Amarinder hail from the politically significant Malva belt, Kaypee is a Dalit from the Doaba region and campaign committee convenor Ashwani Sekhri from Majha.

Amarinder and Bhattal have been openly targeting each other. The former CM has accused her of being close to the ruling Akali Dal. On her part, Bhattal charged Amarinder of being inactive in party work and holding his own parallel party programmes.