Captain's out, Sidhu gets 2nd innings

NEW DELHI: With BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) set to form government in Punjab and the saffron party regaining power in Uttarakhand, the only consolation for Congress was the prospect of limping back to office in Manipur with the likely support of smaller parties like CPI and NCP or Independents.

When EC officially released the results on Tuesday, several reputations had crumbled along with a few remarkable phoenix acts. In a verbally intensive contest for the Amritsar LS bypoll, BJP’s nominee, former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu, staged a comeback worsting his Congress rival, former Punjab finance minister S S Singhla, by 77,626 votes.

Sidhu’s return to Parliament, within months of having to quit after the Punjab HC overturned a trial court judgment and convicted him in a road rage case, was eventful. He had quit his seat, surrendered before a court, spent a day in jail, was granted bail by Supreme Court and then fought an election.

With Congress losing in Punjab and Uttarakhand, both its incumbent CMs Capt Amarinder Singh and the veteran N D Tiwari are out of a job. Singh may seem to be the bigger loser, as Tiwari had virtually announced his retirement from electoral politics. The debacle, however, may singe Tiwari’s barely-concealed presidential aspirations.

While BJP has reasons to be pleased with its Punjab results, it has fallen one short of majority in Uttarakhand. Though Congress is nowhere in the race, some bad selections seem to have cost BJP a larger margin of victory. Its former CM Nityanand Swamy lost, while another, Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, has made it to challenge front-runner B C Khanduri for the top job.

Outgoing Manipur CM Ibobi Singh seems to have a charmed life in politics. With Congress just a little short of power, he may well get another stint at the helm of the north-eastern state after having completed a record five years in power.