After ultimatum, Congress High Command schedules meeting with Amarinder Singh in Delhi

With no signs of respite to Congress from the infighting within its Punjab faction, the High Command has scheduled a meeting with CM Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday, sources have informed. Seeking a quick resolution between Captain Amarinder Singh and disgruntled MLA Navjot Singh Sidhu, as Punjab Assembly Elections approach, the Chief Minister is set to travel to New Delhi tomorrow to partake in the key meeting. Captain Amarinder Singh had previously arrived in the national capital to brief the party High Command over the status quo, however, unlike Navjot Singh Sidhu, he did not meet any of the Gandhis. 

Sources have reported that the Punjab CM had dialled Congress' interim chief Sonia Gandhi earlier on Monday and issued an ultimatum. Miffed by Navjot Singh Sidhu's constant criticism aimed at the administration, with the issue of power cuts being the latest, Captain Amarinder Singh issued an ultimatum to the party chief, stating that he would be choosing on the course of action.

Sidhu turns down Captain Amarinder's offer 

Earlier, CM Amarinder had offered to re-induct Navjot Singh Sidhu into his Cabinet, however, he asserted that appointing the Amritsar East MLA as the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief would not be acceptable to him. In response, sources reported, that Sidhu had turned down Captain Amarinder Singh's offer of a ministerial berth and is adamant on being appointed as the Punjab Congress chief, adding that nothing short of it would be acceptable to him. The Punjab Congress chief post assumes significance with the upcoming Assembly Elections in 2022. 

While the Congress High Command has maintained that Captain Amarinder Singh will remain the party's CM face in the elections, Navjot Singh Sidhu is reportedly vying for the top post after having been at loggerheads with the Punjab CM's administration over several issues, most importantly the desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib in 2015 and the subsequent shooting. However, it is important to note that Captain Amarinder is widely credited for having spearheaded his own win in the 2017 Punjab elections. Now, with the AAP announcing that its CM candidate would be a Sikh person, Congress would be wary of losing the Amritsar East MLA who holds popular sway in the region. 

Sidhu's demand comes in the backdrop of his meetings with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the national capital. The disgruntled MLA has been summoned to New Delhi frequently and has also been warned of extreme criticism against the Congress administration in Punjab. On Wednesday, he held a 'long meeting' with Priyanka Vadra following which he arrived at Rahul Gandhi's residence, just a day after being left out of the former Congress chief's 'schedule'. 

Who will lead Punjab Congress in 2022?

Amid the meetings between Navjot Singh Sidhu and the Gandhis, sources earlier reported that the three-member panel appointed to solve the indifferences had sought a change in the Punjab leadership group, barring the CM. Sources said that Punjab Congress' incumbent chief Sunil Jakhar is likely to be moved out, and former Union Minister Manish Tewari and MLA Vijay Inder Singla are frontrunners to be appointed as the Punjab Congress chief. There have also been murmurs of Sidhu being appointed as Captain Amarinder's deputy, though the word of that has cooled of late.