Afterthe panel set up by the Congress on Punjab submitted its report on thefactionalism in its state unit, a change of guard looks imminent with the AllIndia Congress Committee (AICC) looking for a suitable replacement for currentPunjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) President Sunil Jakhar.
Sourcessaid that former Union minister and Anandpur Sahib MP Manish Tewari is thefrontrunner for the top post in Punjab, while the names of Vijay Inder Singlaand Raj Kumar Verka are also being considered.
Tewariis a known face in Delhi and Punjab's political circles and has the backing ofPunjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. Moreover, he can be appointed to woo thenon-Sikh voters in the state, as he has been an MP from Ludhiana which has alarge number of non-Sikh and migrant electorate.
AICCSecretary Vijay Inder Singla is a minister in the Punjab government, who isknown to be close to the set up in former Congress President Rahul Gandhi'soffice.
Thedark horse is Raj Kumar Verka, a Dalit leader from the Valmiki community. Verkais an MLA from Amritsar and has been the Vice Chairman of the SC Commission.
Theprobability of Verka being elevated to the top post in Punjab Congress hasgathered momentum after the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) recently formed analliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) to contest the 2022 Punjab Assemblyelections together.
Meanwhile,the panel for Punjab has submitted its report and met Rahul Gandhi to brief himabout the situation in the state.
Sourcessaid that the panel has not recommended the removal of Punjab Chief MinisterAmarinder Singh, who is likely to lead the party in next year's Assemblyelections. Instead, a slew of reforms have been suggested in the party's stateunit.
Whilethe fate of Navjot Singh Sidhu is still not clear, sources said the panel wantshim back in the Punjab cabinet. Though Amarimder Singh is averse to Sidhu beingelevated to the post of Deputy Chief Minister, he is ready to accommodate himin the cabinet, sources said.
Thepanel headed by senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and comprising theparty's Punjab in-charge Harish Rawat and former MP J.P. Aggarwal met all thestakeholders recently. Amarinder Singh too had met the three-member panel inthe national capital.
Afterthe meeting, Amarinder Singh had said, "The meeting was to discuss thepreparations for the Assembly elections scheduled early next year. These areour inner party discussions and I don't propose to share them with themedia."
Therift in Punjab Congress had surfaced after former cabinet minister Sidhu alongwith Pargat Singh had opened a front against Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.