The round of meetings of former Punjab Congress President Navjot Singh Sidhu with party leaders is going on. Some leaders believe that this meeting is being done to remove internal strife. It is reported that most of the leaders in the meetings are those who lost the elections or who did not get tickets from the party’s side. According to the results declared on March 10, the Congress had lost power in Punjab by winning 18 seats. At the same time, Sidhu also had to face defeat from Amritsar East.
Sidhu had resigned from the post of party president on March 16. According to the Indian Express report, during that time Sidhu’s aide had claimed that he had vowed to maintain silence for two months. However, four days later, Sidhu called seven Congress leaders home. A similar meeting was held on 26 March at Sultanpur Lodhi, where 24 leaders were present. Now two more meetings are to be held in the coming weeks, including the one to be held in Ludhiana on Tuesday. It is estimated that around 36 leaders can be involved in this.
Former MLA Navtej Singh Cheema claims that the meeting is being held to resolve internal differences within the party. Whereas, a senior Congress leader termed these meetings as ‘the gathering of the losers’. He said that among those who attended the meeting held on March 26, the deposits of 8 candidates were forfeited and 5 leaders were not given tickets. Talking to The Indian Express, Cheema said, ‘Our internal strife has killed us. The high command could not stop it. We told Sidhu that if you want to work, we can start. If we are not united now, then it is all over for the party.
The special thing is that out of 18 MLAs of the party, only Sukhpal Kheda and Balwinder Singh Dhaliwah had reached the meeting. According to report A, people present in the meetings say that Sidhu wants another chance to become the state chief of the party. However, it is being said that former Rajya Sabha MP Pratap Singh Bajwa and former state home minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa are leading in the race for the post. Both the leaders have won their respective seats in the assembly elections.
Former AAP MLA Piramal S Dhaula, who has joined the Congress, says that many present in the meeting felt that if Sidhu was allowed to work freely, the party could have performed well. He said, ‘He had a solution to the problems enumerated by AAP. Had he been made CM, the party could have won. Another leader who was present in the meeting claims that there has been a difference in Sidhu’s behavior. “He has confessed that he never tried to form a faction in the party, but now he has realized the importance of taking other MLAs along,” the leader said.
Here, the leader, who called the meetings a ‘loser’s meeting’, said, “The party chief himself lost to the new leader. With what face are they asking for a second chance?’ The MLA questioned Sidhu’s ‘Jittega Punjab’ and said, ‘He should say Jittega Punjab, Asi Saare Haarenge’.