Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu, who has finally decided to get down to business after weeks of power struggle with former CM Amarinder Singh, now has his task cut out with the biggest challenge likely to emerge for him is during the finalisation of tickets ahead of the 2022 state assembly polls.
With acrimony and infighting among party leaders leading to several months going to waste, the Punjab Congress unit is now rushing against time to set its house in order and initiate poll preparations, which includes finalising candidates.
The biggest headache Sidhu and the party could face is from ticket-seekers from various regions and lobbies. What has made the task even more onerous is the announcement by Capt Amarinder Singh to launch his own party earlier this week. Amarinder has said that he would not only be looking at an alliance with ‘like-minded parties such as breakaway Akali groups’ for the 2022 Punjab polls, but also those within the Congress, who have been treated unfairly by the top brass.
Reliable sources in the party said that with informal surveys by insiders indicating anti-incumbency against Congress legislators, the party top brass led by Sidhu could propose dropping a big chunk of sitting MLAs.
“But that would be easier said than done. Those who could face the axe would have found it difficult to switch over to Akalis or AAP, but now with an option and platform being provided by Capt, such disgruntled members could flock to him. They may not have a huge winnability element attached to them, but could act as big spoilers for the party,” said a senior leader.
Sources also said that the party top brass was aware of this and, hence, would be treading cautiously while allotting tickets. Party leaders admit that the ticket allotment this time is going to be a herculean task as it needs to ensure that a second round of rebellion isn’t triggered.
“We have lost enough time in infighting. Another round of acrimony between different lobbies could spell doom for the party,” said the leader quoted above. What has also compounded confusion are reports that senior leaders like Sunil Jakhar may be included in the process of finalising tickets apart from Sidhu.
“With various groups at work during finalisation of tickets, there could be angry voices and eventually another exodus of some party leaders. We could be back to square one, if that happens,’’ said another Congress leader.
Among the party cadre there is growing unease over the delay in initiating poll preparations. While the Congress was busy setting its house in order, opposition parties like Akali Dal have named candidates for almost all the constituencies. “Leave aside announcing the names, we are still solving the riddle if all is well between Sidhu and CM Channi,” remarked a third leader from the Congress.
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