Capt’s new game: From grooming successor to shot at another term
CHANDIGARH: Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh had often mocked his predecessor Parkash Singh Badal for “lying” about his age to get another shot at power. Ahead of February polls, Amarinder had proudly announced it to be his last poll outing.
Soon after becoming the CM at 75, he had set the cat among the pigeons by declaring that he would groom a successor. But eight months into power, Amarinder, like Badal, feels age is just a number. Within party too, he does need to look far for inspiration. His relative and Himachal counterpart Virbhadra Singh has just fought an electoral battle at 83.
In an interview last week, Amarinder has announced to run another term “for the sake of Punjab”. The move is being seen as Captain’s checkmate in the party’s succession game. It comes at a time when two eligible contenders for the top job, both young Jat Sikh faces, are gaining popularity. Local government minister Navjot Singh Sidhu is wooing MLAs by taking on the Badals and taking up development issues in their areas and finance minister Manpreet Badal is emerging as Congress warrior in goods and services tax (GST) bastion of the BJP.
Manpreet had made headlines for slamming the new tax at the GST council meeting at Guwahati on November 10 and dubbing the BJP as “arrogant”.
Though back home, his case is of “once bitten, twice shy”. Having rebelled against his family during a succession war within Shiromani Akali Dal, Manpreet prefers to bat by Captain’s side, quietly waiting for winds to turn favourable.
None of seven other ministers in the cabinet nurture such an ambition. Senior leaders in Parliament either do not enjoy a pan-Punjab appeal or do not qualify as Jat-Sikh faces.
SILENCING DETRACTORS
Amarinder has shown his cards also to silence detractors both within and outside party. There was a scent of revolt among party’s senior leaders and MLAs over his style of functioning. The CM has kept ministerial berths hanging by deferring cabinet expansion and keeping more than two dozen portfolios, all plum ones, to himself.
While some MLAs are happy with share in spoils of power (read stakes in sand mining, liquor, transport businesses), a section is restless.
The signature campaign by 40 MLAs demanding action against Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia, which Sidhu supported publicly and last week’s boycott of all-party MPs meet by both the opposition and Congress members owing to CM’s absence, has once again fuelled allegations of Amarinder being “non-serious” in governance matters.
Akali Dal president Sukhbir Badal too often takes a dig at him by saying, “what governance can you expect from a CM who has declared it to be his last election” or “there are many CM aspirants waiting in the wings”.
And it is not just Congress leaders who complain about CM being “inaccessible”. Even his cabinet colleagues contend the CM should have reached out to the Congress MPs in party’s interest.
“A good initiative was lost to fragile egos. But old habits die hard,” a Congress minister said, requesting anonymity.
HEALTH CONCERNS
The health of Amarinder too remains a talking point. He himself has skipped all political rallies and recent MPs meeting on health grounds.
Though he may carry the weight to seek another shot at office, many in the Congress argue it would be decided not so much by whether he would, but whether he can, health permitting.