Harish Rawat, AICC general secretary in-charge of party affairs in Punjab, made the frank admission that “all is not well” in the party's state unit, torn apart as it is by the power tussle between Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and PCC president Navjot Singh Sidhu.
What was left unsaid and what has been discussed behind closed doors as Rawat tries to douse fires in Punjab Congress is the uncertainty amongst the MLAs about their fate as they deal with anti-incumbency not just against the government but also against themselves. Many fear that they may not be nominated again and this concern is influencing their decisions.
When Sidhu was appointed PCC chief over a month ago, there was a sense of euphoria among the MLAs. They were hopeful of the cricketer-turned-politician transforming the scenario for them with his popularity and his anti-establishment stance. They had no qualms being in the same frame as the cricketer-turned-politician as they were aware that Sidhu enjoyed the backing of the party's central leadership.
The recent open rebellion against Amarinder Singh is understood to have been fuelled by the fear amongst a section of the MLAs that they would not be renominated. They also fear that the chief minister, who controls the resources and the official paraphernalia, is trying to make matters more difficult for them in their constituencies, especially after they were identified as supporting Sidhu. They are learnt to have complained to the party high command of administrative issues at the grassroots level, such as having to deal with a non-cooperative officialdom, not allowed to have officials of their choice in their areas and even paucity of government funds for developmental works.
According to a Punjab Congress leader, the meeting of over 30 legislators, where, according to leaders belonging to the Sidhu camp, a call was made for replacement of Amarinder Singh as chief minister, was the result of the growing uncertainty amongst the MLAs and ministers, and a feeling that those who were identified as supporting Sidhu were being targeted by the CM.
However, in the backdrop of the Congress high command declaring that the party would go into the assembly elections under Amarinder Singh's leadership, the MLAs are now uncertain about who wields authority in the state unit. This was evident as a majority of MLAs turned up at a dinner hosted by a CM confidant, cabinet minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, and it was showcased by the chief minister's camp as a show of strength.
Rawat is learnt to have taken up with Amarinder Singh the need for the latter to reach out to the legislators and assuage their concerns so that the party can present a united face in the state elections that are just a few months away.
However, the uncertainty with regard to the leadership issue and the presence of dual power centres is only expected to further complicate the intra-party dynamics.
