As Congress factionalism persists, Opposition smells an opportunity
BACK IN THE GAME Akali Dal, AAP set sail on raft of freebies as the beleaguered ruling party fights factional feud with two power centres
CHANDIGARH: On July 23, the day Navjot Singh Sidhu took charge as Punjab Congress chief in Chandigarh, Rahul Gandhi said the infighting in the party’s state unit was over. “It is resolved. You can see,” was his cryptic reply to reporters outside Parliament, alluding to the presence of chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, who was bitterly opposed to Sidhu’s elevation, and most other senior state leaders, at the cricketerturned-politician’s installation function.
But Gandhi may have spoken too soon on the internal turbulence that has hit his party in Punjab six months ahead of the assembly elections.
A little over a fortnight since Sidhu’s anointment, the Punjab Congress remains a divided house.
Adding to a palpable sense of disquiet and drift in the rank and file is a battle of wits playing out between Singh and Sidhu, who are now seen as rival centres of power despite the high command-brokered formula to put up a united face.
Clearly, the crisis, triggered and sharpened by Sidhu’s relentless broadsides against the CM, is far from over. “The factional feud has only turned worse as the bad blood between Captain and Sidhu runs deep,” says a senior Congress minister, requesting anonymity.
Sidhu, often flanked by the CM’s detractors, is already crisscrossing the state and holding meetings to connect with party leaders and workers. And he has a lot of ground to cover in a short time as he had joined the Congress just days before the 2017 elections and spent much of the past four years ploughing a lonely furrow.
Sidhu carries burden of expectations
Sidhu, who had publicly accused Singh of “colluding with the Badals, letting sand and liquor mafias flourish and failing to fulfil key poll promises”, is increasingly feeling the burden of the heady expectations of the party leadership, disgruntled MLAs and others from him. He is now pushing for action on an 18-point agenda that the high command had handed to the CM, endorsing a slew of issues flagged by Sidhu and other disgruntled members of the legislative assembly (MLAs).
Harping on the to-do list is seen as the centrepiece of Sidhu’s strategy to corner the CM and get the party MLAs and ministers rally behind him. In the last two weeks, Sidhu has been lending an ear to their grievances and pending issues so that he can take them up with the state government.
Despite setback, Capt stands his ground
Despite the setback of failing to stall his trenchant critic’s appointment, Amarinder Singh is standing his ground. Sidhu upped the ante when he along with four working presidents met the Captain and pressed for action on five priority points, including the 2015 sacrilege and police firing cases, arrest of big fish in drug trade and the cancellation of power purchase agreements.
The CM said that all key issues of concern are already in advanced stages of resolution. “We have fulfilled 93% of the promises made in the election manifesto,” he told journalists on Saturday, virtually debunking the 18-point agenda that Sidhu portrays as a touchstone for CM’s performance.
But Sidhu’s strident criticism of his own party’s government is adding to the opposition’s ammunition in the poll-bound state.
Uncertainty telling on MLAs
The uncertainty is telling on several MLAs who seem unsure as to which of the two sides will call the shots in ticket distribution. A number of party leaders are worried that the Captain and Sidhu are not on the same page and things may get worse in the coming days with both sides indulging in one-upmanship.
While the high command’s action has weakened the CM’s authority, Sidhu is yet to establish his grip on the party. “There are no signs of a patch-up so far, as both leaders are pulling in different directions. When the party chief is saying things about poll promises that usually come from the opposition leader, there is little possibility of them working together or putting up a united face,” says an exasperated senior Congress leader.
He may be echoing the dominant mood in the party. “A weakened Amarinder Singh is in nobody’s interest,” says a veteran Congress minister from the electorally crucial Malwa region. Another party leader blamed the central leadership for allowing two centres of power.
“If the high command expected Captain and Sidhu to work in cohesion after all that bad blood, it did not read the situation well. They (high command) will have to make their choice clear,” he said, adding “If they don’t, it means they are not willing to take that risk. The other option is to quickly set up a coordination committee before it gets too late.”
However, newly appointed working president Sukhwinder Singh Danny, who represents the Scheduled Castes, says there are no problems of coordination. “Our meeting with the CM was held in a cordial atmosphere. Captain saab has already said that their roles are different. We will go into the state elections as a united force,” he said. Faridkot MLA Kushaldeep Singh Dhillon is hopeful that both leaders would work out everything and gel well with each other. “They are making efforts. It is just a matter of time,” he said.
Opposition on the front foot
In the meantime, the opposition parties --- which were grappling with infighting and seemed at a loss till some time ago --- are sensing an opportunity in the Congress’s self-inflicted wounds. They are in an overdrive to exploit the wrangling in the ruling party and gain political ground.
After its break-up with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which was at number three with 15 seats in 2017, has stitched up an alliance with the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
Though the BSP has not done too well in Punjab in recent elections, it still retains some of its old potential and together with the Akalis can damage the Congress in Doaba. Besides trying to wrest back the Panthic agenda, the SAD, which was a partner in the NDA when the three farm laws were passed and later quit the alliance following protests, is also going all out in support of the protesting farmers to win them back.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which won 20 seats in the 2017 state elections, is also slowly but surely trying to get its act together, hoping to make the most of the turmoil in the Congress and anger against the SAD over the sacrilege incidents and the subsequent police firing. The farm stir is also being seen as an opportunity for the party to retrieve lost ground in the rural areas.
Striking the populist poll note
The assembly elections are still six months away, but the opposition has already struck a populist poll note, promising a raft of freebies. AAP national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal started it all by announcing 300 units of free power for residential consumers, waiver of pending bills and round-the-clock supply – promises that worked well for him in the national capital, if his party comes to power in Punjab. Not to be outdone, SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal promised free power up to 400 units, job quotas for women and locals, diesel rate cut, and a lot more.
Few would disagree that the ruling Congress has lost the edge it had before the self-goal denouement of the Amarinder Singh-Navjot Singh Sidhu faceoff. “Sidhu faces an uphill task in getting the party back into the 2022 contest,” says a political observer in Chandigarh. “The moot question is who gains from the Congress loss.”