New Delhi: The speculations of former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh joining the BJP may have been proved wrong, but his meetings with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval are giving some sleepless nights to Congress top brass. There is a concern in Congress about the move of Captain by meeting the NSA. Has he revealed anything about Navjot Singh Sidhu to Ajit Doval, which could become a problem for Congress in future?
It is learnt that Captain is now preparing to become the captain of his own ship, with the help of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The political circles are heating up with such speculations. If sources are to be believed, Amarinder Singh, while leaving Punjab, had said that he was going to vacate the residence of the Chief Minister, but perhaps the meetings with Home Minister Amit Shah and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval had something else to do.
Reliable sources in BJP say that Amarinder demanded the withdrawal of the three agriculture laws but BJP refused it outright. Instead the saffron party gave him two options but left the final decision in the hands of former Punjab CM.
First one being, asking Captain to join the politics in Centre or to form his own party and assured conditional support after or before the elections in the coming days. If Amarinder Singh agrees to any one of these two conditions, then the politics of Punjab may take a new turn because of the increasing dominance of the Aam Aadmi Party and well-entrenched Congress in the state.
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The departure of the leaders can cause a huge loss for Congress. At the same time, it can also create a new opportunity for BJP. Not only this, if the party sources are to be believed, then the Bharatiya Janata Party has advised its leaders to step up campaigning in Punjab, as well as to avoid unrestrained rhetoric. According to sources, the party leaders have also been asked not to comment particularly on Captain Amarinder Singh's moves.
When ETV Bharat spoke to political analyst Desh Ratan Nigam on this issue, he said that former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh is a nationalist to the core. When his party questioned the heinous massacre like Pulwama, he stayed away from the party line since his ideology was being a true nationalist. So somewhere this stand of the Captain suits BJP well.
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Amarinder Singh is an experienced leader of Punjab, from time to time, he tried to eliminate drug mafia running in the border area or also tried to rein in conversions which were soaring in Punjab. Hence, his ideology perfectly suits BJP. In the coming days, Amarinder Singh's experience can benefit the BJP, even if he does not officially join the BJP, but he can give more information about internal equations in Punjab.
Political analyst Desh Ratan Nigam added that Punjab is a border area and accordingly it is very sensitive from a political perspective. The news coming from the sources is that in the recent cabinet expansion in Punjab, the portfolios have been distributed on the basis of money. However, Captain Amarinder Singh's image has always been that of a seasoned leader with a clean image and a leader of nationalist ideals.
Nigam said that now after coming out of Congress, Captain and the BJP have come together on a single platform to fight issues such as Punjab's security against drugs mafia or conversion.
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