An ambitious Sidhu is simply left with no choice as AAP has already declared its CM candidate, while BJP and Akali Dal are no-go for him.
New Delhi: The Congress party in Punjab could see yet another set of clashes within the party leaders if it comes to power. Presently, the party’s move to refrain from announcing its CM candidate aims at avoiding further factionalism in the party ahead of elections. Political observers believe that the unresolved Sidhu-Channi divide has affected the party image, which may translate into a dip in their votes amid AAP’s popularity.
In a recent interview, AAP’s CM candidate Bhagwant Mann said that “Congress ran their government like a circus”. He also questioned that “why these people (Congress), who keep fighting with each other all the time, should get another five years?”
The speculation that the party may see power struggle is relevant, looking back at the ‘Amarinder episode’ where Sidhu played an important role in ousting him. To be clearer, Sidhu has been able to wield his power in the party’s decisions. But Channi enjoys popular support that has sidelined Sidhu.
The list of 86 candidates released by the Congress bore the influence of Navjot Sidhu, pushing the candidature of Naresh Puri for Sujanpur and Gurpreet Singh GP, who will defend his Bassi Pathana seat overriding Channi’s wishes of fielding his younger brother Manohar Singh from there. The question stands: how Congress will balance it out in Punjab when one (Sidhu) wants to be the CM and another (Channi) cannot be removed from that position, if the party wins.
In Punjab, Dalit population pegs to more than 30 percent and Congress has pitched Channi as a poster boy of Dalit representation. The high command would rarely allow Channi to be removed from chief ministership. Else, it will send a wrong message nationwide that the Chief Minister, who got the party back to power defeating anti-incumbency, was removed to settle scores. It would impact the larger interest of the party.
There is also a sea of difference between the two leaders. Channi was born out of a situation, at a time when Congress was suffering from a crisis. On the other side, Sidhu chose Congress after leaving BJP and his Rajya Sabha seat on 16th July 2016 and weighing several parties to check where he could be a power centre. But opposite to Sidhu’s interests, Congress has hinted at Channi to be its prime face. Channi as CM will distance Sidhu for the next 5 years from the position he is craving for. Obviously, Sidhu wouldn’t like it and may contend for the prime leadership immediately.
Party MLA Darshan Lal Mangpur said, “Amarinder left the party and ceased to be a popular leader. In Punjab, people are mostly with the party rather than any leader of the party. It is the ideology they are with. When Charanjeet Channi was made the Chief Minister, he made many decisions in favour of the people and in just around 4 months, he made his mark. Nobody had thought that the Captain would be dislodged, but it did happen. Party leadership will decide whom to give the CMs responsibility.”
Punjab University professor Ashutosh Kumar said, “As far as Sidhu’s chief ministerial ambition is concerned, that would be there but he is left with no options. Sidhu has to remain in Congress because the Aam Aadmi Party has already announced its CM face. He cannot go to Akali Dal or back to BJP. What are the options left for Sidhu? When the Captain resigned, leaders like Channi, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and all the Congress MPs opposed Sidhu, which entailed less support for him in the party. For now, there’s interference from the high command to tackle the situation.”