Congress puts Amarinder on notice

The Congress high command appears to be attaching immense importance to the views of the Punjab leaders, including MPs and MLAs, regarding the state of affairs in the state, and is likely to take a firm decision next month to resolve the tangle.
The three-member panel, led by Mallikarjun Kharge, leader of the party in Rajya Sabha and comprising Harish Rawat, AICC general secretary, in-charge of Punjab and senior leader, Jai Prakash Agrawal, has laid out an 18-point agenda to the Chief Minister Amarinder Singh for a follow-up action. The 18 points are based on the inputs provided by party MPs and MLAs, most of whom seem to have been critical of the Chief Minister, accusing him of being soft on the Akalis.
The crucial dimension of the entire political scenario that played out in the capital earlier this week is that the Captain, who holds high perception ratings in the national media, somehow stands virtually isolated. There perhaps are only a handful of MLAs who continue to stand by him yet concurrently are looking closely at the central leadership’s final decision on the matter.
The first indication of the high command’s disillusionment with the Captain was furnished by Kharge, who made it amply clear, that the Congress would be contesting next year’s assembly elections under the leadership of both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Kharge is an experienced politician, and would not have made this sort of statement, had it not been endorsed by the top leaders themselves.
The comments have been interpreted in more ways than one; there is a section that believes that by projecting the Gandhis as the main campaigners for the polls, the Congress would lose the game even before it had begun, as has been the case in other states where people have outrightly rejected the party. The Gandhis are not vote catchers any longer, and in Punjab, a leader who has a complete clarity of the ongoing issues was needed to carry the challenge to the opponents.
The second interpretation is that the Gandhis were totally sceptical of Amarinder’s capacity to lead from the front, since most of the MLAs are of the view that a tacit understanding exists between him and the Akalis, which prevented him from fulfilling promises made prior to the 2017 polls.
The time frame till July 10 has been granted to the Chief Minister to observe whether in this period he takes measures to correct this impression thus reassuring the party leadership, that he would not at any stage, let the Congress down. The fact that he has had to prove his credentials at the near end of his term, implies that his activities were under close scrutiny of the high command and therefore damage control exercises had become imperative.
There have been confusing reactions that have emanated from some of the leaders who have been close to Amarinder; for instance, PCC chief Sunil Jakhar’s sound-bite to an English news channel indicates that he was providing defence to the Akalis even before any action against them had been initiated. Jakhar is understood to have said that Rahul Gandhi was aware of what was happening and also the manner in which the Badals were going to be “framed”.
The Akalis have readily reacted, threatening to file an FIR against both Jakhar and Rahul Gandhi for trying to implicate them in cases, which were under investigation or judicial examination. Jakhar’s interview was a serious lapse, and in any case, the high command needs to, as early as possible, replace the PCC chief, as per the plan.
This so when most political leaders have maintained a studied silence after their meeting with the three-member panel, Ankit Bansal, an aide of the Chief Minister, apparently lashed out at the high command for attempting to humiliate Amarinder. Ankit stated that the Congress had come to power solely because of the Captain and the reason why it remained in the opposition for ten long years was because of the high command’s decisions.
The situation in the state for the Congress continues to be serious and is of immense concern. There is social unrest and many leaders have been heckled by farmers when they attempted to go to their constituencies. It is similar to what is happening to the BJP leaders as well. The underlining point is that the farmer’s agitation is going to have a huge impact on the Punjab outcome, and thereby their demands and sentiments would have to be factored in by any party, that aspires to come out victorious.
The dilemma before the Congress high command is that as per their feedback, the party loses with or without Amarinder, unless some strident measures are taken. This is taking place in a region where till six months ago, the grand old party was way ahead of others.
In the given scenario, the possibility of the high command replacing the Chief Minister cannot be ruled out, despite the fact that Amarinder is well supported by the media. The question being that if such a severe decision is taken, who would replace the Chief Minister and defend his four and a half years of rule? The reason for this possibility is that the central leadership has developed doubts over his capacity to take on the main Akali opponents.
The situation is rather grim and in the coming two weeks, Amarinder would have to reassure the high command that he can still deliver. Between us.