Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh onJuly 6 has met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi amid the escalated tumult in thestate unit.
Though after meeting, Capt Amarinder Singh didnot reveal much about the deliberations it is anticipated that he has agreed tothe truce formula created by the High Command to end the deadlock in PunjabCongress.
While speaking to the reporters after the meeting,Capt Amarinder said, “Whatever decision Sonia takes, we will abide by it.”
Earlier,Priyanka Gandhi had suggested that Sidhu be made Punjab Congress chief but CaptAmarinder was keen on having a non-Sikh face as the state Congress president.Therefore, it is said that both Navjot Sidhu and Capt Amarinder close aide Vijay Inder Singla might be giventhe Congress President charge.
Singla is a Hindu leader and currently holdsthe education portfolio in the state. Besides this, the name of Manish Tewariis also the forntrunner for the state Congress president.
Moreover, Capt in his meeting with SoniaGandhi has suggested electing a Dalit leader as the deputy chiefminister in order to repose the community’s faith in the partyahead of Punjab Assembly Elections 2022. Amritsar MLA Raj Kumar Verka's namehas been put forth on the table to elect him as the second deputy chiefminister.
The sources have further suggested, as theball is in Congress chief's court, Sidhu could be accommodated as PPCC Chief.Additionally, the High Command has already cleared that the upcoming assemblyelections in the state will be contested under the patronage of Capt AmarinderSingh as majority of the Congress leaders including MPs and MLAs of the stateunit are in his favor and believes in his governance.
Thus by the end of thisweek, significant announcements can be made by Punjab CM beginningfrom the implementation of the 18 points peace broker formula to the Cabinetrejig.
In a few media reports, it also surfaced thatAmarinder Singh has tried to reunite with Pratap Bajwa to keep Sidhu at bay.Also, he had invited a handful of Hindu Congress leaders for the luncheon.
On the flip side, thecricketer-turned-politician shares an amicable bond with Rahul Gandhi andPriyanka Gandhi Vadra and they have been backing Sidhu in political affairs. Itremains clear that Gandhi brother-sister had built pressure on Capt to leavethe reconciliation on the High Command. As per the sources of Sidhu's camp, heis still a prime candidate in the race of Punjab Congress Chief.
In order to reserve the prominent position forSidhu, lobbyists tried building pressure on Congress general secretary PriyankaGandhi Vadra.
Reportedly, before Capt Amarinder’s meetingwith Congress Chief, Priyanka met the former for rumination. However, furtherreports suggested, Priyanka did not visit 10 Janpath while Sonia was in talkswith Punjab CM.