In Punjab, the challenge is now to look beyond Captain Amarinder Singh, and after months of deliberation and discussions, the Gandhis have chosen to rest their faith in Navjot Singh Sidhu, appointing him as the Punjab Congress chief with immediate effect on 18 July.
The political urgency that was needed in Madhya Pradesh in 2019 is being ushered in Punjab right now. The false equivalence being drawn between Captain Amarinder Singh and Kamal Nath or Ashok Gehlot is a mistake the Congress leadership is making, one that could come back to haunt them in the future.
Singh, since the late 1990s, has conducted the political affairs of the state with the blessings of the Gandhis, but from a distance. In the state, Singh, very much integrated within the Congress structure, is seen politically, independent of the Gandhis and their legacy. Therefore, no state election carries the political and emotional baggage of 1984 violence against Sikhs in Delhi, until now.
Even during most election campaigns, it was Singh who ran the show, with occasional appearances from the Gandhis. He did not disappoint the party leadership too, winning majority seats in the state in the face of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wave, in 2014 and 2019.
The appointment of Sidhu as the Punjab Congress chief is a year or two too early, for there is nothing for him to win in 2022, but only to lose.
#AmarinderSingh #NavjotSinghSidhu #Punjab #Congress
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