Congress minus Captain is Navjot Singh Sidhu camp’s rider

Few in Punjab see the possibility of anyone other than Amarinder leading the Congress in the elections, and sources in the party said Awaaz-e-Punjab would gain nothing out of this demand. AAP, meanwhile, has stayed aloof to the proposal of an alliance with Sidhu, who had attacked the party while launching the front.

The Awaaz-e-Punjab statement Monday read, “Amarinder is hand in glove with the Badals, his dubious, behind-the-curtain deals with the Badals are an open secret. There is no question of betraying the people of Punjab. Politics is a mission, not a profession. This is a war between right and wrong. We will be on the right side and back Punjab,” the statement read.

Sources in the Congress as well as others close to leaders of Awaaz-e-Punjab said Rajya Sabha member Partap Singh Bajwa, Congress strategist Prashant Kishor and two “close but non-political aides” of Rahul Gandhi had met Sidhu in Delhi in separate meetings a few days ago. Bajwa was not available for confirmation of these reports. Sources close to Kishor said his meeting with Sidhu had been a personal one and had nothing to do with the Congress.

Sidhu has attacked Amarinder earlier, releasing a statement accusing him of a nexus with the Badals. Amarinder, on the other hand, had initially welcomed Sidhu to the Congress after he quit the Rajya Sabha, but has taken him on since. After Sidhu launched Awaaz-e-Punjab, Amarinder called it a “tonga party” and said Sidhu had no mass appeal and was known for comedy rather than political acumen.

Asked about the possibility of an alliance, Amarinder told reporters the party will consider the proposal if approached by any of the leaders who had said Monday they were open to supporting the Congress. There has been no contact between the Congress and any of the leaders of that front, he said; he had got to know about their proposal only from news reports.

Following the front’s latest demand, a senior Congress leader said, “The Congress campaign is Captain-centric. Perhaps Awaaz-e-Punjab does not know what it means by Congress minus Amarinder.”

The Punjab Congress has named various campaign events after Amarinder, such as Punjab da Captain, Halke Vich Captain, Chahunda hai Punjab, Captain di Sarkar. The state unit is awaiting a formal announcement declaring him the chief ministerial candidate, having waited since the party named Sheila Dikshit as CM candidate for Uttar Pradesh. Amarinder’s aides expect the announcement to come at Rahul Gandhi’s rally in October.

AAP, on the other hand, has not made any effort to reach out to Sidhu and expects him to make the first move. “We have not received any proposal as yet from him. We will consider if we are approached, but we will not approach him,” said Jarnail Singh, joint in-charge of AAP.