Hyderabad: Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa is likely to become the new Punjab Chief Minister, sources said this afternoon. A three-time MLA, Mr Randhawa, 62, was the Jails and Co-operation Minister in the outgoing cabinet and is from Gurdaspur district. He also served as Vice President of the party's state unit and his father, Santokh Singh, was a two-time chief of Punjab Congress. With more than 50 MLA's reportedly supporting Randhawa, it looks like the 62-yr-old set to emerge a winner among other contenders, add sources.
Earlier in the day, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi held a party meeting to assess the situation and also decide on Singh's successor. Senior party leader Ambika Soni and Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal were present at the meet. Though Soni was touted to be the interim chief minister of the state until the Assembly polls next year -- both Captain Amarinder and Sidhu have shown immense respect to her and she is close to the Gandhis -- the veteran leader clarified that she was not keen on taking up the role due to health issues.
Sources in the party said that the top brass is yet to finalise a name to succeed Aamarinder as the leaders are divided over the selection of a Jatt or a Hindu candidate. They have now reached out to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to convince her to replace a Jatt with a Jatt and not to take chances by placing a Hindu candidate. Sources said they have suggested to the high command that they have ample opportunities to choose a Hindu candidate in any other state but not experiment with it in Punjab as it could prove detrimental to the interests of the party, given that the Assembly polls are only a few months away.
It is learnt that Sidhu, the ambitious PCC chief, has been pressuring the party in-charge for Punjab to make him the chief minister, a possibility that has been categorically ruled out by the senior leaders. Sources said any bleak chance of Sidhu assuming the role of the chief minister has been wiped out completely after Amarinder alleging that the former cricketer has close links with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and chief of Pakistan Army Staff Qamar Bajwa. The party leaders fear that making Sidhu the chief minister may lead to factionalism within the party. On the other hand, Rajasthan Chief Minister and Congress leader Ashok Gehlot has come out in support of Amarinder. "I hope that Captain Amarinder Singh ji will not take any step that will harm the Congress party...He is a respected leader of the party and I hope that he will continue to work keeping the interests of the party ahead," Gehlot tweeted.
Amarinder wrote to Sonia before stepping down
Captain Amarinder wrote a letter to Sonia Gandhi just hours before he stepped down as the chief minister. Apprising Gandhi of his decision, he expressed anguish over the recent development in Punjab politics, especially in Congress. Captain indicated his apprehensions of instability in Punjab following the recent developments in the state unit of Congress. He also added that the developments in the state unit were not in the best interest of the state.
The fallout
Once a favourite of the Gandhis, Amarinder was handpicked as Rahul Gandhi, replacing Pratap Singh Bajwa. In March 2017, Amarinder assumed office as the chief minister, with the party winning with over two-thirds majority. Navjot Singh Sidhu's then inclusion into the Congress fold -- as he switched sides from the BJP -- was against Amarinder's wish. Just ahead of the 2017 polls, Sidhu forayed into the Congress with the support of Rahul Gandhi. In November 2018, Sidhu publicly said, “My captain is Rahul Gandhi, who is also his (Amarinder’s) captain. Wherever I went, it was with his (Gandhi's) approval."
As Sidhu was divested of his local bodies portfolio during the 2019 cabinet reshuffle, the rift between him and Amarinder came out in the open. Irked by his portfolio change to the department of power and renewable energy, Sidhu quit the cabinet. To make things worse for Sidhu, the Congress state unit refrained from giving his wife Navjot Kaur a ticket for the Lok Sabha polls.
The Congress workers were in for some good news when Amarinder and Sidhu met for dinner on November 25, 2020, setting speculations that they had buried the hatchet and made a fresh start. However, four months later in May 2021, Sidhu launched a scathing attack against Amarinder over the Kotkapura firing saying the state government had accepted the orders of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana to form a new SIT to probe only to “deflect” people’s attention.
When Sidhu took over as the chief of Punjab Congress in July, Amarinder made his presence felt and sought to lay to rest the differences he had with his colleague and former cricketer. However, trouble mounted for Amarinder soon as 32 party MLAs, including four cabinet ministers, revolted against him and demanded a leadership change.
Also read: Sidhu has connection with Pakistan, will oppose his name as next CM face: Capt Amarinder
