Sukhjinder Randhawa Likely To Be Punjab Chief Minister : Sources
Poll-bound Punjab will get a new Chief Minister today – a day after a “humiliated” Amarinder Singh resigned, capping a long and bitter feud with Navjot Sidhu that has left the party fighting for control of one of the few states it still rules
Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa is likely to be the new Punjab Chief Minister, sources have said. 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 President.
A meeting of the Congress Legislature Party scheduled for today has been postponed after Rajya Sabha MP Ambika Soni – believed to be the party’s first choice – declined the offer. Ms Soni said “no” at a late-night meeting with Rahul Gandhi; she stressed on the “ramifications” of a non-Sikh Chief Minister, particularly with an election due.
If held today, the CLP meeting would have been the second in two days. Aware of its precarious position (and of the BJP, AAP and Akalis waiting to pounce), the Congress is keen to ensure the new Chief Minister has maximum support. Sources said the CLP will be called after all party MLAs are consulted and a shortlist acceptable to all is drawn up.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot – who earlier this year narrowly survived instability in his government – has requested Mr Singh to “keep the interest of the party above all else.” In a lengthy statement issued this morning, Mr Gehlot called on his colleague to “to rise above ourselves and think in the interest of the party and the country”.
Months of sniping and hostility between Amarinder Singh and Navjot Sidhu came to a head late Friday after a sudden meeting of Congress MLAs. Sources told NDTV around 50 of the party’s 80 MLAs wrote to Sonia Gandhi and asked for Mr Singh to be replaced.
A furious Mr Singh then spoke to Mrs Gandhi and told her he had had enough. “I was humiliated three times by Congress leadership…” he said. He wrote to Mrs Gandhi declaring himself “anguished” and to defend his administration’s track record.
The Captain also told NDTV that though he had resigned, “… for the sake of my country, I’ll oppose his (Navjot Sidhu) name for Chief Minister. It’s a matter of national security… is an incompetent man… a total disaster…” Of further worry for the Congress, perhaps, was Mr Singh’s response to staying with the party; “I can’t answer right now.”
The Singh-Sidhu feud dates back to the 2017 Assembly election, when Mr Sidhu hoped to be made Deputy Chief Minister but was reportedly denied the post by Mr Singh. The former cricketer – who joined the Congress after a stint with the BJP – was instead made a minister but quit two years later after his ministry was downgraded.
Mr Sidhu sulked and re-emerged, targeting Mr Singh, becoming a hard-to-ignore problem. The rift escalated sharply in recent weeks, forcing the party into a mediation attempt led by Punjab in-charge Harish Rawat that soured badly after Mr Singh made clear his disapproval at Mr Sidhu being made the Punjab Congress chief.
The tenuous truce further unravelled after controversial statements by Mr Sidhu’s advisers, which Mr Singh condemned. Last month, four ministers and around 24 MLAs raised fresh complaints against Mr Singh, setting the stage for the weekend’s drama.