Sunil Jakhar, the oracle who predicted Sidhu’s early exit

JAKHAR SAID THIS WHEN ASKED ABOUT FORMER CM AMARINDER’S REMARK THAT HE WILL FIELD A STRONG CANDIDATE TO OPPOSE NAVJOT SIDHU

CHANDIGARH: When Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Navjot Singh Sidhu sent his resignation letter to party national president Sonia Gandhi six weeks after he took charge, he left just about everyone in the ruling party shocked.

But there was one senior party leader – his predecessor Sunil Jakhar – who had a strong inkling that this was coming. He, in a chat with this reporter on Monday, predicted this, stating that seeing the way things are developing and knowing his temperament, Sidhu will leave before the elections roll out.

Jakhar, known for his strong political instincts, made the prediction when asked about former chief minister Capt Amarinder

Singh’s statement that he (former chief minister) will field a strong candidate to oppose Sidhu in the assembly elections in 2022.

The cricketer-turned-politician, handpicked by former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra despite Capt Amarinder’s strong opposition to his elevation, sent his shock resignation from his post to the Congress president within 24 hours. Sidhu, who took over as the president of the faction-ridden state unit on July 23, posted his resignation on Twitter even as Sonia and Rahul, who were holidaying in Shimla, boarded a flight from Chandigarh to Delhi.

Jakhar, a Hindu face, had made way for Sidhu’s elevation and was a frontrunner for the chief minister’s post with Rahul’s backing after Capt Amarinder resigned following months of internal strife in the state unit. His name was more or less final at one stage, but a section of the party leaders, including Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Ambika Soni and some legislators, pressed for a Sikh chief minister. The assembly elections in Punjab are less than five months away.