After days of speculation Congress has appointed Navjot Singh Sidhu as party’s Punjab unit head late Sunday evening. “Congress president has appointed Navjot Singh Sidhu as president of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee with immediate effect” a party statement read.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi also appointed four working presidents: Sangat Singh Gilzian (a backward caste leader) Sukhwinder Singh Danny (belongs to a Scheduled Caste), Pawan Goel (Hindu) and Kuljit Singh Nagra (Sikh). These appointments suggest that the party is mindful of the social and caste combination considering the upcoming assembly elections of the state.
Congress went ahead with the decision even as Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has been opposing Sidhu’s appointment. He wrote a letter to Sonia Gandhi stating his reservations about the ex-cricketer getting elevated.
However, Congress president has sent senior party leader and in charge of Punjab Harish Rawat to pacify Amarinder Singh. This appears to have broken the ice. After meeting with Rawat, Capt Singh tweeted that he will obey any decision of the party.
Rivalry between Sidhu and Amarinder Singh has been going on for long however, lately, it became quite intense. Sidhu has been attacking Punjab government and the Chief Minister through his tweets consistently for last few months. It would be interesting to see how things pan out after this bold decision by the Congress leadership.
