Punjab polls: Congress infighting escalates as Bajwa brothers stake claim for same seat

The rift in the Congress party continued to simmer on Monday as the Bajwa brothers expressed desire to contest the same seat in the Punjab polls due early next year. Speaking to the media, former Punjab Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa claimed that the party high command had approved his candidature from Qadian. This comes after he was officially named as the chairman of the manifesto committee for the Punjab Assembly election.

Partap Singh Bajwa told reporters, "Everything has been discussed with the party high command and I have got the green signal from them and they also want me to come to Punjab. I have decided to contest from traditional seat Qadian". A Rajya Sabha MP whose term gets over in April 2022, he has also served as a Lok Sabha MP, MLA and Minister in the past.

However, his younger brother and sitting Qadian MLA Fateh Jung Singh Bajwa affirmed that he is the party candidate from Qadian. He referred to the fact that Sidhu had publicly backed his candidature for this seat during a rally on December 2. Moreover, he added, "Partap Singh Bajwa is a very senior leader. He has a big stature in Punjab and he can go anywhere". 

Fateh Bajwa backs Sidhu as CM face

Sharing the stage with Sidhu in Qadian on December 2, Fateh Jung Singh Bajwa extended support to the Punjab Congress president as the party's CM face for the Punjab polls. This came as a setback to former CM Amarinder Singh as Bajwa was perceived to be his loyalist. Even as Congress has not officially declared its Chief Ministerial candidate as of now, it is believed that Sidhu was miffed after being bypassed for the CM's post after Singh's resignation. 

Congress MLA Fateh Jung Singh Bajwa opined, "MLAship is a very small thing and we can throw it away a hundred times. We need love of brothers, we need Navjot Singh Sidhu. If he becomes the CM then it means I have become the CM, and our area has become the CM". In order to keep the factionalism in check, Congress president Sonia Gandhi appointed Rajya Sabha MP Ambika Soni as chairperson of the election coordination committee and Sunil Jakhar as the head of the campaign committee in Punjab.