Navjot Singh Sidhu gets upper hand in Punjab as Congress top brass ignores CM Amarinder Singh's objections

Cricketer-turned-politician Sidhu`s political innings with the Congress is new and his rivals see him as a turncoat politician. In March 2017, he was inducted as a Cabinet minister in the new Congress government in Punjab headed by Amarinder Singh.

NEW DELHI: After weeks of infighting and strong opposition by Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu was finally appointed the state unit chief by the Congress top brass in a bid to end factionalism in the party. Sidhu replaced Sunil Jakhar, a prominent Hindu face who was at the helm for over four years. Sidhu’s election as the new state unit chief is being looked at as a carefully calculated smart move by the party top brass to end factionalism just ahead of the assembly elections. However, this stopgap solution has further widened the rift between the two powerful factions in Punjab Congress. It is also likely to spice up the three-cornered assembly election in Punjab in early 2022. The decision to elevate Sidhu has evoked a mix of responses with some snubbing Captain Amarinder Singh while others attacking Sidhu for his vendetta politics. Sidhu’s appointment as Punjab Congress chief was announced despite serious objections raised by CM Amarinder Singh, who had written to interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi against his elevation to the post.