PATIALA, June 17: With lobbying for the post of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president intensifying, majority of the 21 chiefs of the party's district units, MLAs and ex-MPs are said to have cast their lot with Capt Amarinder Singh.Several of them, it is learnt, have reached Delhi to lobby for the scion of the former princely family of Patiala.According to party sources, a section of the leaders, including certain office-bearers of the PPCC, are trying to impress upon the party high command that Rajinder Kaur Bhattal be allowed to continue.The argument being advanced by Bhattal loyalists is that she alone could not be held responsible for the Congress debacle in the June 3 by-elections. The party high command had constituted a 16-member coordination committee comprising senior party leaders from the state and assigned them particular segments in the two constituencies of Tarn Taran and Sham Churasi. As such, the blame could not be pinned on a particular individual, her supporters say. The gesture shown by Bhattal in resigning as PPCC chief owning moral responsibility for the party's rout should be reciprocated by the high command by asking her to continue in office, they add.However, a strong group of Congressmen, including Santokh Singh Randhawa, Avtar Henry and Harcharan Singh Brar, are opposed to Bhattal and have all along remained her vocal critics.Though Jagmeet Singh Brar is still in the reckoning, his candidature is being strongly opposed by Harcharan Singh Brar and his supporters.Talking to ENS, several senior party leaders pointed out that Jagmeet Brar had not remained loyal to the party and had been floating his own outfits from time to time. However, what goes in his favour is that he has been a vocal critic of the Akali leadership.The points weighing in favour of Capt Amarinder Singh are his general acceptability by the party rank and file, his support among both Hindus and Sikhs, and his proximity to the Gandhi family.His recent crusade against SGPC chief Gurcharan Singh Tohra on the Nirankari issue and his performance in the last Lok Sabha election from Patiala have also consolidated Amarinder Singh's position in the party.Party sources said a successor to Bhattal would be appointed by June 24 before a meeting of the Congress Working Committee. By that time, even elections to panchayats in the state would be over.Certain party leaders said the party president, Sonia Gandhi, should individually listen to the views of Congress MLAs from the state as also the ex-MPs and presidents of district units.
