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Cong ‘one family, one ticket’ rule: Navjot Sidhu for Lok Sabha, wife for Punjab assembly?
Of the various options offered by the Congress to cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sindhu — whose wife, Navjot Kaur, and Awaaz-e-Punjab mate Pargat Singh are likely to join the party on November 28 — is to contest the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat that has fallen vacant following resignation of Capt Amarinder Singh over the Supreme Court ruling on the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal.
Of the various options offered by the Congress to cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sindhu — whose wife and MLA Navjot Kaur, along with Awaaz-e-Punjab mate Pargat Singh, is likely to join the party on November 28 — is to contest the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat that has fallen vacant following resignation of Capt Amarinder Singh over the Supreme Court ruling on the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal.
Since the Congress has announced that it would follow the ‘one family, one ticket’ rule for distribution of tickets in Punjab, it may try to humour the Sidhus the way it has other power couples of the state — husband MP, wife MLA.
When Punjab Congress president Amarinder won the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat in 2014, his wife Preneet Kaur contested and won the bypoll from Patiala, the seat vacated by Amarinder. When Preneet represented Patiala thrice as MP, Amarinder was MLA.
Also read | How Congress demonetised Navjot Sidhu politically
The musical chairs worked for the Bajwas too. When Partap Singh Bajwa was Lok Sabha MP, his wife Charanjit Kaur Bajwa contested from the assembly seat of Qadian to become MLA. After Bajwa lost to BJP’s Vinod Khanna from Gurdaspur parliamentary seat in 2014 and Amarinder later waged an open revolt against him to get th Punjab chief’s chair from him, Bajwa was made Rajya Sabha MP.
Former BJP MP Navjot Singh Sidhu, according to Congress sources, may also finally join the Congress and contest the bypoll for the Amritsar LS seat. It would ensure the new power couple in Congress too gets to follow Congress way of maintaining good “Centre-state” relations.
