Crisis in Punjab Congress: Mallikarjun Kharge panel stumped for now

With the hardline supporters of Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Amarinder Singh ruling out any rapprochement with dissenting leader and former minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, the task of the three-member negotiating group led by senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge has become harder. 

The group spent time on Sunday with Rahul Gandhi, to share its findings with him after meeting Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) and other leaders, including the CM in Punjab.

Amarinder Singh or Captain, as he is known, has already made it clear that he is happy to accommodate Sidhu in the Council of Ministers, but has ruled out giving him the deputy chief ministership or the position of state party chief. 

His supporters say there is no question of replacing the CM – not only does he continue to enjoy the backing of the Congress Legislature Party and many members of Parliament, but there is simply no one in the government who has the stature to replace him in a state where elections are due in a matter of months.

The Kharge-led panel is understood to have recommended that Amarinder Singh be retained. But the CM’s supporters say that the constant attrition and humiliation of the CM must stop. The bottom line is that New Delhi must withdraw the patronage given to Navjot Singh Sidhu, they say.

“Till a few months ago when the farmer movement was at its zenith, there was only one leader in Punjab – and that was Captain. Now because of all these self goals, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is well on the path to revival,” says an advisor to the Punjab government. 

“It is common knowledge that in at least 15 Assembly seats in Punjab, the Akali Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will have a ‘friendly’ fight: old friends making allowances for each other. The Congress would have fared best in a scenario of division where SAD, BJP, and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) thrown in for good measure had fought separately. That is no longer the case; the Congress has united its enemies,” he said.

The Congress is particularly concerned about the announcement of a pre-poll alliance between the SAD and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). There was a time when BSP was a strong force in Punjab; it had nine MLAs in the Assembly in 1992. Now, with the Dera Sacha Sauda founder Ram Rahim in jail convicted of rape and murder, the Dalit following in Punjab needs a political anchor. 

Punjab with 31.94 per cent has the highest population of Scheduled Castes in the country, including Valmiki and Mazhabi Sikhs, according to the 2011 Census.

Even with all these pressures, Amarinder Singh could have beaten back an Opposition that was disorganised and divided three months ago, his supporters say.  Now, with the encouragement given to Sidhu, “the Congress has proved it is its own worst enemy”, they say.