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Sidhu meets Priyanka Gandhi amid rumblings within Congress’s Punjab unit
The meeting came a day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said no interaction was scheduled with Sidhu
Disgruntled leader Navjot Singh Sidhu met Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in New Delhi on Wednesday amid rumblings within the Punjab unit of the party in the run to the polls in the state due next year.
In a tweet, Sidhu described it as a “long meeting”.
The meeting came a day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said no interaction was scheduled with Sidhu.
An aide to Sidhu on Monday said the former Punjab minister would meet Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in New Delhi. Sidhu arrived in Delhi from Patiala on Monday.
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A party insider said Sidhu’s meeting with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is important as it signals the Congress does not want to part ways with the cricketer-turned-politician ahead of the polls. The top leader met Sidhu while there has been no such meeting between Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh and the Gandhis lately.
Sidhu has been critical of Singh and accused the chief minister of colluding with the Badals of the Shiromani Akali Dal, the Congress’s arch-rival in Punjab.
Rahul Gandhi has been trying to address the growing factionalism in Congress’ Punjab unit. He held one-to-one meetings with over 20 party leaders from the state last week.
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi formed a three-member committee to resolve the rift. In its report on June 10, the panel suggested that Sidhu be suitably accommodated in the state unit.
Sidhu has expressed his desire to be the state unit chief. But the chief minister, the biggest vote-catcher for the party in the poll-bound state, is averse to the idea. Differences between the two led to Sidhu’s resignation from the state Cabinet in July 2019.
