- Friday, April 19, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
AT a time when the ruling party of the northern Indian state of Punjab is facing a serious crisis with two of its top leaders quitting in a week’s time, a key development took place in New Delhi where former chief minister of the state Captain Amarinder Singh met the second-most powerful leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Amit Shah, who is also India’s home minister.
Singh, 79, did not answer any question about joining the saffron camp even though while resigning from the top position earlier this month, he said that he had his options open. His team called it a “courtesy visit”, leaving questions over the veteran leader’s future plan unanswered.
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While senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member from Punjab Manish Tiwari refused to speculate over the issue, asking the media to ask the question to Singh himself, his Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) counterpart Naresh Gujral feels no leader from Punjab could afford to now get close to the BJP particularly when the farmers’ protest against the three agricultural laws of the Narendra Modi government was underway.
Speaking to India Weekly, Gujral, the son of late Indian prime minister Inder Kumar Gujral, said, “Meeting is one thing. May be Captain Singh is trying to give a message to his high command. But he will lose his credibility if he joins the BJP without the three laws having been repealed. At this moment, no Punjab leader can cozy up to the BJP.”
Punjab drama: A week after Amarinder Singh, Sidhu quits as state Congress chief
Gujral also reminded that it was over the agricultural laws that the SAD has left the BJP’s National Democratic Alliance. “To get close to the BJP is now like having a kiss of death,” he said.
The SAD leader lashed out at parties like the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party saying a remote-controlled leadership in Punjab will not work for the betterment of the state. “For a strong federal structure, healthy regional parties are required. Punjab must be governed from Punjab. But if we put Delhi-controlled leaders in the state, they will be nothing more than puppets,” he said.
He even went on to say that the Congress top leadership demolished a leader in Punjab and it would be lucky to get into the double digits in the next Punjab elections just months away.
But where did the Congress’s plan go wrong in Punjab?
India Weekly spoke to Ronki Ram, a senior professor at Panjab University, Chandigarh, and an expert on the state’s politics.
“A lot has happened over the last few days in the state’s politics. When Channi was made the chief minister after a lot of names made the rounds, there was no consensus on his candidature. They thought that for the time being, Channi could be picked and somebody could come later on,” Ronki said.
“But Channi soon started showing that he has taken up the job to remain a rubber-stamp. He started meeting people on the ground and this started making him look like a figure of importance. Though Channi has been a minister in the Punjab government and also a leader of opposition, he was never a politically renowned figure. But now things are seeing a change”
But, according to Ram, the Congress has far too many internal problems to address. He said there was a tug-of-war over who would become the chief minister and then a tug-of-war over ministerial and other appointments. He particularly mentioned the appointment of Amar Preet Singh Deol as the state’s advocate general, a move which has been slammed by both the BJP as well as a section of the legal fraternity due to his connection with some controversial cases in the past.
Deol also told a news portal that his name had been cleared by the Congress high command.
What is the role of Sidhu in the entire crisis? “Sidhu is having a crisis one after another. First, he had differences with Captain Singh. Now, he is reportedly having differences with chief minister Channi. The situation has become very complex and the Congress has to find a way out of this mess,” Ram said.
He said Sidhu has an advantage that he has a clean image and by stressing that he will not compromise with ethics, he is giving a positive message. But at the same time, the former cricketer also has a disadvantage and that is the frequency of his tussles. “People may perceive him more as a troublemaker than a troubleshooter,” Ram said.
Coming back to Captain Singh, could the BJP get a boost in Punjab if he joins the party? Like Gujral, Ram refused to believe it would. “People are unhappy with Captain for he left the post just ahead of the elections. If he joins the BJP now, that party will also pay a price for the anti-incumbency against Singh,” he said.
