Navjot Singh Sidhu's Congress ticket may brew trouble

CHANDIGARH: Navjot Singh Sidhu is keeping Captain Amarinder Singh guessing in Punjab while sending feelers through a parallel channel to the top Congress leadership that he is open to contesting from Amritsar (East), the sitting assembly seat of his wife.

Singh is said to be “uncomfortable” over Sidhu contesting an assembly seat and could question why Sidhu does not wish to contest the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat that he has resigned from, a Congress leader said. On December 6, Singh told ET that there was “no question” of Sidhu contesting an assembly seat since Sidhu was not interested in contesting the Lok Sabha seat in the first place. The prospect of both Singh and Sidhu contesting an assembly seat may lead to a tussle for the CM post if Congress wins - Singh, who is fighting from Patiala, could demand declaration of his name as CM face beforehand in that event to avoid any surprise later.

“Singh was always fine with Sidhu contesting Lok Sabha,” a leader said. Congress has kept the Amritsar (East) assembly seat vacant, not announcing Sidhu’s wife and sitting MLA Navjot Kaur’s name in list of 61 tickets so far.

“Only one out of the couple can get a ticket,” a Congress leader said.

AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal has been taking potshots at Captain Amarinder Singh on Twitter lately, telling him that Sidhu could be the Congress CM face. Sidhu in earlier meetings with the Congress leadership, including Priyanka Gandhi, had “not sounded optimistic” on contesting an election, saying that could run foul with his existing professional contract with Sony TV, a leader said.

“He said the contract was his breadand-butter. He had said he would try to work a way around and get back. There was an in-principle agreement on him joining Congress and campaign.

In his only meeting with Singh on December 4, Sidhu had categorically told him that his wife would contest from Amritsar (East),” a Congress source said. However, Sidhu has now sent feelers to the top Congress leadership that he would be ready to contest from Amritsar (East) assembly seat. “We will only know after the Congress Election Committee meeting on December 20, on who out of the Sidhu couple will contest,” a Congress source said.

The Congress has another problem as its former candidate from Amritsar (East) seat is leading a campaign advocating that the ticket should be given to a Hindu candidate rather than a Jat Sikh. Sidhu is still to join the Congress while his wife did so and hinted her husband would follow.

Kejriwal had earlier told ET that Sidhu’s former partners, the Bains brothers who joined AAP had told him that Congress planned to make Sidhu as the CM face. AAP had earlier offered Sidhu the Deputy CM post but he refused to join them.