“Good riddance,” posted Sukhjinder Randhawa, senior Punjab Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP from Gurdaspur, on January 31, soon after Navjot Kaur Sidhu, former MLA and wife of cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, posted her decision to quit the party.
While Randhawa did not qualify his post, coming on the heels of Navjot Kaur’s comments in which she attacked Pradesh Congress Committee President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and announced her decision to quit, it was easy to connect the dots. A few weeks earlier, Randhawa had served a legal notice on Navjot Kaur after she made damaging allegations against him on TV.
While Raja Warring has been involved in a tit-for-tat with Navjot Kaur Sidhu after her tirade against him, in which he said she needed mental treatment (Navjot Kaur retaliated with the same suggestion for Warring), former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi spoke about calming the waters. Channi also said he would speak to Navjot Kaur to resolve the matter, as she may have spoken in anger.
Navjot Singh Sidhu’s cryptic comments
While senior Congress leaders are tight-lipped in the media about the timing of Navjot Kaur’s tirades, most of them privately say they suspect that Navjot Singh Sidhu approves of his wife’s statements, and that he may soon be leaving the party.
“The issue of Sidhu’s exit and possible re-entry into Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been discussed at the highest forums in the party. No one is showing much concern over his next move, and he has painted himself into a corner,” said a leader who did not want to be named.
Navjot Singh Sidhu has not responded to his wife’s statements, nor has he made any political statements lately. He has resorted to cryptic poetic comments posted on social media, which have caused much speculation about his next move.
“Main bachata raha deemak se makaan apna, aur chand kursi ke keede poora mulk khaa gaye,” he said in a recent video.
He went on to paraphrase famous Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz, and said, “Ai khaan nasheeno, utho, jaago, aur dekho waqt kaha aan pahuncha hai, jab takht giraye jaayenge aur taj uchhale jayenge”.
Navjot Singh Sidhu, the former Punjab Congress president and ex-MP and MLA, has been largely absent from active politics for some time now. He has maintained a low public profile and has returned to the TV screen, doing cricket commentary and appearing in shows.
If the Sidhus quit Congress
Congress leaders believe that Navjot Kaur Sidhu’s exit and her unsparing attack on the current state leadership have effectively closed off any immediate pathway for reconciliation between the Sidhu camp and the present PPCC dispensation.
“No tears will be shed at the Sidhu couple’s departure from Congress, if it happens,” said a former party MP who has a senior role in Punjab.
“The personal nature of the allegations, combined with the claim of a secret understanding between Warring and the AAP government, makes it politically difficult for Sidhu to continue functioning comfortably within the existing Punjab Congress structure,” said another Congress leader.
Several scenarios are now being discussed in political circles in the state regarding the firebrand Sidhu, including prolonged marginalisation within the Congress. Under this, Sidhu could remain formally in the party but be kept on the sidelines indefinitely. This has been the de facto situation for the past few years, but the public escalation by his wife makes this position even more untenable for someone of Sidhu’s public stature and oratorical style.
Another scenario, favoured by much of the Congress leadership in Punjab, is his eventual exit from the party. Many observers believe his wife’s public break with the current Punjab leadership is a prelude to Sidhu himself quitting the party—either quietly or with a high-profile announcement.
Navjot Singh Sidhu’s possible course of action
His 2017 switch from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to the Congress demonstrates that he is not ideologically rigid about party loyalty when core political interests are at stake.
Given his enduring personal popularity in parts of urban and semi-urban Punjab (especially Amritsar), Sidhu may also choose to contest future elections as an Independent or under the banner of a new or smaller regional formation. His wife has already indicated she intends to focus on non-electoral social and spiritual work through an NGO, which could provide a parallel platform for the family’s public activities.
Although no concrete outreach has been confirmed, some within Congress claim Sidhu may re-engage with the BJP. However, this remains a highly speculative assertion at this point despite the political chatter.
For the Congress in Punjab, the episode is damaging on multiple fronts. The party is already struggling with factionalism, low morale after successive electoral setbacks, and difficulty projecting a clear chief ministerial face. The very public implosion of the Sidhu–Warring relationship reinforces the narrative of chronic disunity, and makes it harder to present a coherent alternative to the incumbent AAP government.
Navjot Singh Sidhu also faces a stark choice: accept permanent irrelevance within a party that shows no signs of restoring his earlier stature, or risk exiting and attempting to rebuild his political relevance on a new path.
The coming weeks will likely clarify which direction the former cricketer-turned-politician ultimately chooses.
Senior Congress leaders speculate that Navjot Singh Sidhu may soon be leaving the party. (File Photo) 
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