Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Chandigarh, The faction in the Punjab Congress associated with Capt. Amarinder Singh is likely to launch renewed and decisive offensive against the state party chief Partap Singh Bajwa after the municipal elections the notification for which is likely to be issued any time now.
Sources maintain that the faction comprising mainly the MLAs and led by ex-soldier turned military historian, opted for tactical retreat when party vice-president Rahul Gandhi spent a day here on October 16 to gear up the party and counselled against factionalism. Presently, instead of fighting against the Akali Dal-BJP combine, the Congress is wasting its energies in the factional fight as the Amarinder Singh faction has refused to reconcile to Bajwa’s leadership.
This new strategy is based upon the time tested experience in the state that the local bodies have always by and large gone with the ruling party in the elections. This faction would like Bajwa to taste another defeat after the Lok Sabha elections in which the state party chief himself lost from Gurdaspur followed by the debacle in the Talwandi Sabo Assembly bye-election.
Not that Capt. Amarinder Singh has any glorious record since the party lost to the Akali Dal- BJP combine in 2007 when he was the chief minister and virtually offered the state on a platter to the ruling combine in the 2012 elections despite strong wave of anti-incumbency against the Parkash Singh Badal government. The party lost every election under Capt. Amarinder Singh’s leadership necessitating the change. It was Bajwa who replaced him. Capt. Amarinder Singh was back on the centre stage when he dealt a crushing defeat to the BJP stalwart Arun jaitley from Amritsar in the Lok Sabha elections by more than a lakh vote. Presently, he is the deputy leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party but time and again, he has made it clear that the state politics is his first preference. Majority of the MLAs has gone back to his camp.
This faction has launched a signature campaign against Bajwa and is learnt to have secured the signatures of about 35 MLAs out of 45. This number is likely to go up to 38. The senior MLAs who have not so far signed this representation addressed to party chief Sonia Gandhi include Lal Singh and Brahm Mohindra.
Rahul Gandhi had addressed the district and block presidents, heads of the frontal organisations and members of the PPCC, MP and MLAs separately but the thrust was the same. He repeatedly emphasised on cohesiveness. However, that had little impact.
Bajwa’s plus point is that he has the capacity to work at the grass roots but of late, he is missing in action, especially since the Lok Sabha elections. He is being supported by party’s national general secretary Shakeel Ahmed and secretary Harish Chaudhary, both of whom have been entrusted with the Punjab affairs. Capt. Amarinder Singh did not recently spare even Chaudhary while launching full blasted attack against Bajwa for which he is known.
Ironically, the fight is over as to who would be the next chief minister, despite the fact that under the given situation, the party cannot even dream of forming the government, despite strong anti-incumbency which can help the Congress to stage a comeback from Punjab. The party has to set its house on order and unitedly confront the Akali Dal-BJP combine to be in power. However, the Punjab congress leaders refuse to learn any lessons.
In this context, sources maintain that in case change is to be brought about in the state party leadership, the choice would be a leader who has the capacity to take the Akali Dal head on but keeps his ambitions under control. This is going to be the main criteria for the nomination of a new leader. This would eliminate all the over-ambitious leaders in case the party high command sticks to this formula which is presently under consideration.
Thanks To Jagtar Singh
