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‘Channi has assured his full support to Congress’ poll efforts’: Sachin Pilot
Sachin Pilot told HT that all Punjab leaders have assured him they will work together to deliver results under Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge's leadership
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Congress general secretary Sachin Pilot, who was recently appointed in-charge of Punjab, maintains that all senior party leaders in the state have assured him that they will work unitedly ahead of the crucial assembly polls. In an interview to HT, the senior Congress leader also spoke about his new role as well as the party’s prospects in the upcoming Punjab polls. Edited excerpts:
The Congress in Punjab faces sharp divisions between Charanjit Singh Channi and Amrinder Singh Raja Warring.
Punjab is very important not just for the Congress but for the country. This state is very dear to all of us including the Congress leadership. I have already met most of the top leaders in Punjab. They have assured that they will work unitedly. It will be my duty and responsibility to ensure that every leader and worker feels that he or she is a stakeholder in the collective future of the Punjab Congress.
Of course, there are minor differences of opinion. But we will fight this election with Mr Rahul Gandhi, the one person who has captured the imagination of the youth and all thinking people. It’s clear that Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge will lead the campaign. And everybody else in Punjab who has really toiled for the last one and a half years will be a major support to our effort when we lead the campaign.
Have you met Channi?
As I said, I have spoken to almost all the key leaders. All of them have assured me they will work collectively to deliver results under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge. People of Punjab want the Congress to be there. All of us want the Congress to win. I had a cordial meeting with Channi and he has assured me that he will offer his full support to the party’s efforts for the election. Please remember, the Congress had made him the only Dalit chief minister of Punjab. He remembers what Rahul Gandhi had done for him. In our meeting, he was very candid and assured that he will work shoulder to shoulder with the top leadership of the Punjab Congress.
You are set to face AAP, a possible coalition between Shiromani Akali Dal and BJP, and outfits such as Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De). How do you see it?
It will certainly be a multi-cornered election but the main contest will be between the Congress and the AAP. Of course, there is BSP, BJP, the two factions of the Akali Dal and some other smaller parties. But people of Punjab are looking for a stable alternative. It’s a border state and people know that religious divides or geographical disparities must not come in the way of giving a solid mandate. We also feel what the BJP has done in Delhi it was an open display of being anti-young people and anti-students. So, there’s a narrative now and I think Rahul Gandhi is at the forefront of that. Also, BJP doesn’t have a very strong footing in Punjab. They have been a junior ally of the Akali Dal. And even when they were together, they have lost many elections.
In the last election, the Congress won just two of the 69 seats in Malwa region. Channi himself lost both his seats. And there is a demand for a stronger Jatt Sikh leader.
When any party is in government, going into polls, person heading the government becomes a face. But as the opposition, it can’t just be one or two people. It has to be a full team. Look, Channi was given a chance towards the fag end of the term and he tried his best. I don’t want to use the last election as a benchmark. It was a wave election where a lot of people perhaps won who weren’t deserving. This election will see a fair decision.
AAP was untested and people gave them an opportunity. But in the last four and a half years, the AAP government has only served the interest of the party leadership. Today it is marred by controversies, arrests and corruption scandals. The Congress had a very good performance in the Lok Sabha elections, which indicates that the people want change.
What is Rahul Gandhi’s message to you?
His consistent message is that we have to work for the people of Punjab. The voters of Punjab expect the Congress party to live up to their expectation. He’s asked me to go and work on the ground and that he wants to spend time in Punjab. He’s very keen to start his yatra as soon as possible. Our teams are working to finalise the details of how to do it. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi want the party in Punjab to work tirelessly, unitedly, collectively for the party and for the state.
