Punjab polls: Chorus grows louder to announce Captain Amarinder Singh as CM candidate

CHANDIGARH: Congress party’s reluctance to announce Captain Amarinder Singh as Chief Minister Candidate, with just 16 days to go for Assembly polls may cost party dear. The chorus within the Congress cadre grows louder, every time Shiromani Akali Dal leaders take a dig at Captain that even Gandhi’s don’t want to project him as CM. Navjot Sidhu's entry into the ring has further aired similar sentiments.

It was in 2012 Assembly elections Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi had announced Captain as CM candidate, at a rally in Jalandhar, even before the ticket distribution had started.

On Tuesday, Captain himself maintained that call on his CM candidature will be taken by Party President Sonia Gandhi.This has provided enough political ammunition to SAD and AAP that Captain is one of the contenders for the coveted post and people are being misled on his CM candidature.

Most of the Senior Punjab Congress leaders barring Rajya Sabha Member Pratap Singh Bajwa have been pressing Rahul Gandhi to take call on the same at the earliest.

In 2004 Assembly elections in Haryana, Sonia Gandhi had chosen Bhupinder Singh Hooda over three time Chief Minister late Bhajan Lal- only Non Jat to head the state for three times. Lal was taken to be the CM candidate by the voters till the last moment. He and his son Kuldeep Bishnoi parted ways with Congress later and went on to form another party.

Captain’s camp is apprehensive; he should not meet same fate.

“In that case only option Captain will have is to go the Virbhadra Singh (Himachal Pradesh CM) way, as Sonia Gandhi during the last Assembly elections in Himachal in 2012 wanted him to be replaced by her confidante Vidya Stokes.

Virbhadra Singh showed his prowess by threatening to launch a new party and to walk away with almost all the newly elected Congress legislatures,” says senior Punjab Congress leader,” requesting anonymity, while adding “Congress has a policy of announcing CM candidate after election results are out. 2012 was an exception in Punjab, when Rahul Gandhi projected Captain’s CM candidature well in advance. You have seen the results of doing that. This time party wants to play safe.”

Earlier it was speculated, announcement could be made during the release of manifesto in Delhi, by the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The announcement has been keenly awaited by Congress workers and vehemently opposed so far by Rajya Sabha Member Pratap Singh Bajwa camp- considered close to Rahul Gandhi.

Shiromani Akali Dal is making an issue out of it.

Hitting at the central Congress leadership, Shiromani Akali Dal General Secretary Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa says, “the Congress with a standing of over 130 years has outsourced all its activities to Prashant Kishore led Indian Political Action Committee (i-PAC). He is the sole decision maker notwithstanding that the party has a formal president Amarinder Singh, a Congress legislative leader Charanjit Singh Channi and scores of secretaries and 20 odd formal district party units. Why is Congress shying away from announcing the CM face this time?”

Congress campaigns, carefully crafted and executed by Prashant Kishore, seems to have struck chord with the voters. SAD credits Prashant kishore over Captain for that.

“Ironically, only Prashant Kishore decides that Amarinder will contest from Lambi and Ravneet Bittu from Jalalabad. Also, PK would take a call whether Amarinder should opt for “ Coffee with Captain” or “ Lassi with Captain. Equally interesting fact is that PK prepares a blueprint for loan waiver for farmers, massive job card distribution or registration slips for smart phones to 40 lakh youth”, said Dhindsa adding that this wild imagination has neither any political inputs on their desirability nor any economic prudence on their feasibility given the fiscal strains.

SAD and AAP allege, Punjab Congress has emerged as one man- army with PK as its top executives and all others are bidding to his idiosyncrasies which ultimately the party has to pay for it.

As political temperature in state goes up, Captain is living up to his flamboyant of campaigning. Talking to media persons en route Lambi, after filing his nominations papers, he said he would not rest till he had cooked Badal’s goose.

Launching what he has described as the 'grandfather of all battles', Captain Amarinder, who went to the Badal stronghold of Lambi in a massive procession after filing his nomination at Malout, said he had vowed to wipe Badal from Punjab’s political scene and had come to Lambi to do teach him a lesson for life.