Navjot Singh Sidhu may be next Punjab Congress chief

Rajmeet Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 14

The Congress high command is likely to appoint Navjot Singh Sidhu as the next PPCC chief even as efforts are on for truce between Capt Amarinder Singh and the dissident ministers and MLAs, who scaled up the issue of unfulfilled poll promises.

“Announcing Sidhu as the PPCC president makes him frontrunner for the post of the CM in the Assembly polls due next year. Given the CM’s opposition to Sidhu’s candidature as the state unit chief, the party has to be prepared for a different working formula to bring both the leaders on the same page. Appointing two-three working presidents — a Dalit and a Hindu face — under the PPCC chief is also being discussed,” said a senior leader privy to the discussions.

The top leadership wants everything settled down before it announces the “peace formula” to end the crisis in the state unit. The dissidence in the state unit over the last two months saw the working Congress president Sonia Gandhi setting up three-member Mallikarjun Kharge panel to listen to grievances of Punjab leaders, before Rahul Gandhi met them.

“In the event of Sidhu becoming the PPCC president, the Chief Minister’s camp would want truce with the annoyed ministers and MLAs. The need is both ways,” pointed out a senior party leader.

Amid the escalated differences, ministers Sukhjinder Randhawa, Tript Rajinder Bajwa, Sukhbinder Sarkaria and Charanjit Channi had even boycotted a Cabinet meeting chaired by the Chief Minister. The leaders have been raising the issue of speedy justice in sacrilege and police firing cases, cancellation of power purchase agreements (PPAs) and action against transport and drug mafia. Sources said other Cabinet ministers had intervened to end the stalemate between the CM and the dissident ministers.

Randhawa said he had no differences with the Chief Minister. “I had attended a meeting chaired by the Chief Minister on debt waiver yesterday. My fight is issue-based, not person-based. The party is supreme. Whoever is appointed the party president, others will work with him for the benefit of the party, which will form the government next year. When Partap Singh Bajwa was chosen as the party president, we worked with him too,” he added.

‘Alternative plan must’

• A senior leader privy to the discussions says if the CM objects to Navjot Singh Sidhu’s candidature as the state unit chief, the party has to be prepared with a different working formula to bring both the leaders on the same page
• Appointing two-three working presidents — a Dalit and a Hindu face — under the PPCC chief is also being discussed
• Another senior party leader says in the event of Sidhu becoming the PPCC president, the CM's camp would want truce with the annoyed ministers and MLAs as the need is both ways