CM Amarinder to lead Congress in 2022 Punjab polls: Harish Rawat amid Sidhu camp rebellion

Amid the debilitating situation in Punjab Congress with CM Amarinder Singh faction and Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu faction at loggerheads with each other, in charge of Congress in Punjab Harish Rawat has made it clear on Wednesday that Congress will contest the upcoming assembly election under the leadership of Captain Amarinder Singh.

This assumes significance as both the factions have been indulging in a war of words, escalating the internal conflict in Congress in Punjab.

The fresh row erupted after four ministers - Tripat Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Charanjit Singh Channi, held a meeting with around two dozen legislators on Tuesday in Chandigarh and sought replacement of the chief minister, saying they have “lost faith in him” over the issue of unfulfilled promises.

They had questioned the ability of the CM in honouring the unfulfilled poll promises such as delay in justice in the desecration of a religious text in 2015, arrest of "big fish" involved in drug rackets and scrapping power purchase agreements. They also said that they would meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi to apprise her of the sentiments prevailing in the party.

Lok Sabha MP Preneet Kaur held Navjot Singh Sidhu responsible for engineering the demand for the ouster of her husband and Punjab CM Amarinder Singh. Now, in a contrasting stance, seven out of 20 Punjab MLAs and former MLAs accused of demanding the replacement of the Chief Minister have absolutely denied allegations of their involvement in the move.

According to a statement from Punjab CMO, these seven leaders have reposed their entire faith in Capt Amarinder Singh's leadership, denying outright being part of what they called a conspiracy hatched by a group involved in trying to drive a split within the party. Their denial came just hours after a faction of the Punjab Congress made a list of party MLAs/ex-MLAs public, claiming that these leaders wanted Captain Amarinder Singh replaced and planned to take the matter to the top command. These seven party leaders, on the other hand, have washed their hands of any such choice, declaring that they will continue to support the Chief Minister.

The four ministers who organised Tuesday’s meet have met Harish Rawat on Wednesday. Addressing the press conference after the meeting, Harish Rawat said, “Four ministers & three MLAs met me. They expressed their concerns & said that they're concerned about the chances of the party's victory in the state. They said they're not against anyone, they want to go to the polls with a clear roadmap so that we win.”