Second innings in Punjab politics? Navjot Singh Sidhu meets Sonia Gandhi; chatter grows

Former Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Monday met Congress president Sonia Gandhi at her residence in New Delhi and it is learnt that they discussed considering an active role for him in the party, news agency PTI quoting its sources said. It is speculated that the former cricketer, who has remained away from Punjab politics ever since he resigned from the state cabinet, is reconsidering taking up a ministerial berth.

Sidhu to make a comeback in Punjab cabinet?

Sidhu is considering his return to the Punjab cabinet but is likely to be given a ministry other than he held earlier, sources said.  He had been the local bodies minister and also held the charge of tourism ministry in Punjab. All India Congress Committee general secretary for Punjab Harish Rawat and party general secretary K C Venugopal were also present at the meeting which lasted for around half an hour, sources said.

Sidhu has been eyeing the post of Punjab Congress chief but Amarinder Singh is not keen to hand over the party reins to him, sources said. 

Last month, when asked about Sidhu, considered Chief Minister Amarinder's bete noire, Harish Rawat said he is keen to ensure that the cricketer-turned-politician gets an important responsibility soon. "I am in a hurry to settle this thing," he said. Asked if there is a possibility of Sidhu's return to the state cabinet, Rawat said, "We will soon crystallise things. I don't think that we can keep a man like Sidhu, who has a lot of potential, without any major responsibility. We have to make maximum use of him."

Navjot Singh Sidhu vs Captain Amarinder Singh

Sidhu had met Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh over lunch in November last year. CM said that they had some "simple talks" and expressed hope that he and Sidhu will continue to have cordial meetings. "I was satisfied and happy with the meeting, and so was Sidhu," he said.

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"We did not make any plans for Punjab or India or the world. We just had some simple talks, during which Sidhu shared a lot of his cricketing experience," Singh said, adding that unfortunately, the media was making a mountain out of a molehill.

Sidhu and Singh have not been on the best of terms since May 2019 when the CM accused the former cricketer of the "inept handling" of the Local Government Department, claiming it resulted in "poor performance" of the Congress in urban areas during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Sidhu was stripped of key portfolios in a cabinet reshuffle, after which he resigned from the state cabinet and stayed away from all Congress activities.

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(With PTI inputs)