New Delhi: The Congress is set to make a new beginning in Punjab and is expected to announce the names of the new state unit chief and the legislative party leader soon. “We have held internal discussions over the probable names for the two key posts. The high command will take a final call in the matter soon,” AICC in-charge of Punjab Harish Chaudhary told ETV Bharat in an exclusive interview.
The Congress, which had swept the state with 77/117 assembly seats in 2017, is down to 18 lawmakers against 92 of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party. During a post-poll review, public spats between former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi and former state unit chief Navjot Singh Sidhu were identified as the key reason which took the voters away from the grand old party.
Interestingly, Sidhu was named the state unit chief last year much against the wishes of then chief minister Amarinder Singh, who was later removed unceremoniously. Amarinder had blamed the high command for the crisis, floated his own party the Punjab Lok Congress and contested the polls jointly with the BJP but the alliance failed to have an impact.
In a follow-up action after the poll debacle, Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi had asked Sidhu to resign and appointed senior party leader Ajay Maken to review the ground situation and suggest ways to revamp the state unit. According to sources, several rounds of discussions have been held recently over the probable names for the two key posts. Those who featured in the consultations include Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Partap Singh Bajwa, Raj Kumar Verka, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and Pargat Singh, among others.
Of late, the meetings of party leaders got projected as a show of strength but Chaudhary played them down. “Such gatherings are normal,” he said. The Congress, said the AICC in charge, was preparing for new innings -- to play the role of strong opposition and regroup the organization – but will not tolerate indiscipline in the state unit.
“We will be a constructive opposition but we will keep reminding the government not to cheat the people and deliver on their promises,” said Chaudhary. “We will not tolerate any indiscipline in the party. One of the key focus areas of the new team would be to engage with the workers and the voters alike,” he said. Party insiders acknowledged there was widespread anger among the voters against the former Congress government in Punjab but said the appointment of Charanjit Singh Channi, a Dalit Sikh, as the chief minister just months before the polls did help the party cut the losses.
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