Captain Amarinder Singh, on Saturday, resigned from the post of Punjab Chief Minister after months-long infighting with the party’s Punjab unit president Navjot Singh Sidhu over the leadership charge. Ahead of crucial Punjab assembly elections scheduled to be held next year, the Congress party was seemingly torn between the two political poles within the party’s Punjab unit.
Singh submitted his resignation to Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit at the Raj Bhavan. After this, his council of ministers also met the Governor and tendered their resignation from the cabinet posts.
On Thursday, Harish Rawat met Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and sources said that he was asked to settle the raging tussle within the party as MLAs have once again started raising voices that amounted to calling the meeting.
Sidhu has been at loggerheads with Amarinder Singh ever since he quit the Punjab cabinet as a minister in 2019. He had become more vocal in his views in the last some months.
Here are some points on how and when the relationship between Navjot Singh Sidhu and Amarinder Singh got bitter:
1. According to media reports, Singh was never in the favour of Sidhu when he joined the Congress in 2017 just ahead of the Punjab assembly election. It became a little evident when Sidhu in November 2018 publicly had said, “My captain is Rahul Gandhi, who is also his (Amarinder’s) captain. Wherever I went, it was with his approval.”
2. Sidhu’s portfolio was changed from the Local Bodies’ to the Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy in 2019. However, he did not assume charge of his new department. The rift became even more evident when reacting to Sidhu’s mannerisms, Singh had said, “Perhaps he is ambitious and wants to be chief minister.”
In the same year, Sidhu resigned from the Punjab Cabinet but what had raised eyebrows at the time was Sidhu’s move to send his resignation letter to Rahul Gandhi.
3. On November 25, 2020, both the leaders met over a lunch, triggering speculation that Sidhu may be re-inducted into the state cabinet. A media adviser to the Chief Minister had then said that both leaders spent an hour together at Singh’s residence in Punjab and shared thoughts on various issues.
4. Both Singh and Sidhu again met on March 18 this year over a tea for nearly 50 minutes in Mohali after which speculations were rife that the latter will be reinducted into the state cabinet. Singh had said that he had known Sidhu for decades now and he will do what is good for the party and the state.
5. In July this year, Sidhu was declared as the Punjab Congress chief after weeks of infighting with Amarinder Singh.
6. Last month, four ministers and around two dozen party legislators had raised a banner of revolt against the Punjab CM and had said they had no faith in Amarinder Singh’s ability to honour unfulfilled promises. Four ministers–Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Charanjit Singh Channi–had raised a demand for replacing the Chief Minister.
7. The Congress on Saturday called a quick meeting of its legislative party in Punjab at 5 pm in response to MLAs asking for a discussion on issues within the party.
8. Sources also revealed that the majority wants a Hindu leader. Either Navjot Singh Sidhu or Sunil Jakhar could become the new leader of the legislature party, sources added. They further said that the High command hopes that Singh will respect the decision of the majority MLAs in the legislature party meeting.
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