Tribune News Service
New Delhi, September 18
The exit of Capt Amarinder Singh as Punjab Chief Minister could pose a fresh set of challenges to the Congress and the border state.
Moments after Capt Amarinder resigned citing “humiliation by the party”, a senior Congress man said the development should be seen just as a pause, not a full stop, in the 52-year-long political career of the former soldier. Capt Amarinder, later, himself said he was not one to retreat and was not hanging his boots yet.
If the outgoing CM’s “all options are open” remark translates into a new political outfit or alignment, Punjab’s political equations in the 2022 elections could vastly change.
Nationally, while the BJP remains in a wait and watch mode over Captain’s next move, National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah today rued Congress’ inability to retain Amarinder Singh and keep its house in order.
“Ordinarily, I wouldn’t give a toss about the fratricide in the Congress. However, what the Congress does has a direct fallout for every political party outside the NDA orbit,” Omar said, signalling national consequences of the exit of Capt Amarinder.
“Humiliating someone like Amarinder Singh will have consequences for the Congress not just in Punjab but nationally and internally. Today for the first time we saw an outgoing CM defy Congress’ convention of authorising the party president to decide on the CLP leader,” said a veteran Congress leader.
It is learnt that Capt Amarinder has received feelers from a section of G23 leaders who have been seeking internal reform in the Congress. As G23 mull their future course, Capt Amarinder could add value to the camp and provide the group a foothold in electoral politics starting with Punjab in 2022, a source said.
Capt also flagged concerns about border security, noting that Pakistan had been smuggling weapons and drugs through drones. The security issue will remain relevant considering a new CM would take time to settle down. “The new CM would have an onerous task ahead of him of hitting the ground running amid the party infighting and farmers’ agitation,” said a Congress leader.
Party in a fix
- State’s political equations in the 2022 polls could change if the outgoing CM’s “all options are open” remark translates into a new outfit
- The new CM will get little time to settle down and manage various party factions
- Captain, it is learnt, has got feelers from a section of G23 leaders, who have reportedly been seeking internal reforms
Political equations bound to change as Captain keeps ‘all options open’
{$excerpt:n}
