Sidhu is not participating wholeheartedly in the party’s campaigning.
New Delhi: The Congress in Punjab is busy settling the discord within the party after the decision to announce the CM face was made. To make matters worse for the party, the Navjot Singh Sidhu and Charanjit Singh Channi camps are seen working on different lines. As the state’s Assembly elections are days away, Sidhu is not participating in the party’s campaigning wholeheartedly. His priority seems to have been his own seat of Amritsar, where he is striving to win against SAD’s strong candidate Bikram Singh Majithia, and not Congress.
A noted political commentator of Punjab politics and Punjab University professor told The Sunday Guardian, “Sidhu not attending important Congress rallies will obviously have an electoral impact.” Since the announcement of CM face, Sidhu has purportedly refused to talk on stage and has also missed multiple rallies. On Monday, Sidhu missed an important rally of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, signaling all is not well and things aren’t smooth for the Congress. A journalist covering Punjab elections said, “If the perception of infighting remains among voters, there will be declining electoral response which may impact in over half a dozen seats.” The move of not naming Sidhu as the CM face has shattered his pursuit of his “self-proclaimed” and much-touted Punjab Model agenda, which he later rephrased after not being declared the top face into “my agenda is what the party’s agenda is”. Toeing the party line did go down well for the party’s image, but afterwards, he has been unable to put up a united face for the party. The recent events involving Sidhu have been about him vainly trying to portray his party as “one”, but his participation in party affairs hasn’t been enough, diminishing his propagation of “oneness”. To be precise, his words have been “rosier” than his actions. Due to the continued infighting, the perception among political analysts is that Congress has a “model” for “losing elections”.
Sidhu’s family also expressed how unsatisfactory the party’s decision was and came out in the open to denounce the decision. Sidhu’s wife clarified that she stands with the party, but refused to show adherence to the party’s decision. Moreover, their daughter also came out to speak against the decision. A Congress leader said: “There could be anger about it in his family. His daughter is too young to understand what to say and what not to say in public.” According to party leaders, the anger in the Sidhu camp may come down in the coming days.
Political observers say that such a situation in the party was expected as both the camps within the party had high hopes from the CM face decision. Now, the disgruntled Sidhu camp feels partly betrayed and is unwilling to work in tandem with the party line. Apparently, it’s not only Sidhu who is at odds with the Congress, but there are many other leaders who are not happy with the party, Manish Tewari being one among them, as he is not seen campaigning in full swing. A Congress leader while responding to the discord in the party said, “This is what democracy is. Plus, one cannot make everyone 100% happy, there is nothing like perfection. The perfection won’t come. This is the truth that we have to accept. This is a democratic party and everyone has a right to feel and practice their individual rights. Surely, this small visible divide will end soon and Sidhu will remain with the party.”