NewsGate Press Network

By Pankaj Vohra

In a late-night development, the Congress High Command put to rest all speculation regarding former Cricketer, Navjot Singh Sidhu declaring him as the next president of the party in the state.

The announcement came after frantic last-minute efforts by supporters of Chief Minister Singh failed to make any dent on the Central leadership which decided to go ahead with its earlier plan.

The appointment is also aimed at sending a strong message to the Captain and his followers that they would have no option but to fall in line and thus should halt all actions that would be construed as defiance of the High Command.

In all fairness, the CM while expressing his resentment to the AICC general secretary Harish Rawat in Chandigarh on Saturday had stated that Sonia Gandhi’s word on the matter would be acceptable to him.

However, his camp swung into action and attempted to thwart the move by creating an impression that on this issue, the Captain’s rivals such as Partap Singh Bajwa were also on the same page as him.

Sidhu’s inexperience and utterances were used to convey to the leadership through various social media platforms that the appointment would lead to a division amongst the party cadres which may be detrimental to the overall interest, given that elections were round the corner.

Undeterred by the tweets, the High Command decided to go ahead with its blue-print thus anointing Sidhu as the obvious successor to the Captain. However, the Cricketer was told in utmost strong words that he should apologise to the Captain for his remarks, thus paving the way for both of them to work together in the future.

The meeting of party MPs held at Partap Bajwa’s Delhi residence became insignificant after the notification of the PCC Chief. Several MPs, including Parneet Kaur, the Patiala Lok Sabha member and Captain’s wife wanted Sonia Gandhi to know that it would be absolutely difficult to work with someone as inexperienced and temperamental as Sidhu.

In the process, the position of Bajwa, who has been clearly close to Rahul Gandhi, has also become extremely embarrassing.

Commenting on the CM’s demand that Sidhu must tender his unconditional apology, his Cabinet Colleague, Tript Bajwa stated in the day that Amarinder should ignore the former Cricketer’s critical comments in the same manner as he had overlooked Partap Bajwa’s observations about his policies.

In short, the war within the Congress was out in the open and thus, could possibly impact the outcome of the polls next year. Sidhu was chosen by the Gandhi siblings, and his being designated as the state party chief effectively means that the cadres have to accept the change of batons.

The move was a near replication of when the late Sanjay Gandhi during the peak of Indira Gandhi’s tenure in the mid-seventies decided to remove the powerful Rajni Patel from the position of treasurer to underline the fact that he had arrived.

However, the Gandhi siblings have a long way to go, and must understand that the battle-scarred Captain cannot be undermined, and unless he is extended full courtesy, he could be an out-and-out adversary.

The next few weeks would determine the course of politics in the Congress in general, and Punjab in particular.

(Courtesy – The Daily Guardian, New Delhi. Pankaj Vohra is Managing Editor of TDG)