Premium
This is an archive article published on August 30, 2013
Premium

Opinion Sidhu all over,just not here

if there is one place the seemingly ubiquitous Navjot Singh Sidhu isn’t,it is his Lok Sabha constituency.

Raghvendra Rao

August 30, 2013 12:37 AM IST First published on: Aug 30, 2013 at 12:37 AM IST

There he was on Wednesday at a BJP event in Delhi. There is on TV every weekend regaling and clearly getting regaled on comedy shows. And there he is in commentary boxes during cricket matches. But if there is one place the seemingly ubiquitous Navjot Singh Sidhu isn’t,it is his Lok Sabha constituency: Amritsar.

He hasn’t been seen there publicly for over six months now. His detractors recently came up with posters proclaiming him “missing” and offering a Rs 2 lakh-reward to anybody who got him back to the constituency.

Advertisement

That the BJP MP has been sulking has been known — his aides missing no opportunity to blame “certain elements” in the Akali Dal-BJP government for having “created circumstances” forcing him to stay away.

Those close to Sidhu say that the MP is peeved over the way several of his pet projects — ranging from a solid waste management plan to construction of a few bridges and flyovers to installation of CCTV cameras in the city — were scuttled by his opponents within the party. The former India Test cricketer-turned-politician is also reportedly aggrieved at the way the BJP unit has been “sidelining” his supporters.

In April,his wife,Punjab Chief Parliamentary Secretary and Amritsar (East) MLA Navjot Kaur Sidhu,announced that he would not contest the 2014 Lok Sabha polls from Amritsar. This,she had said,was because he was feeling “ignored and sidelined” by the BJP.

Advertisement

The irrepressible Sidhu,however,chose to keep silent on the matter till Thursday,when he said he would visit Amritsar shortly to reveal the “strong reasons” he kept away. Following the “missing” poster,it was his political secretary in Amritsar who had first jumped to his defence,with typical Sidhuisms like “Arbi ghoda agar kamzor bhi pad jaye,gadhon ke astabal se kahin behtar hota hai” and “Haathi chaley beech bazar,kutte bhonkey ek hazaar”.

Sidhu may be keeping his counsel but,after all,some can say he has already had the last word. The state BJP unit may not have much to say in his defence,but Sidhu was recently appointed co-incharge of the crucial Delhi Assembly elections along with former BJP chief Nitin Gadkari.

Hopefully now the 12.41-lakh strong Amritsar electorate — particularly the 3.9 lakh voters who voted for him in 2009 — may know where to look for him.

Raghvendra is a senior assistant editor based in Chandigarh raghvendra.rao@expressindia.com