MLAs prefer Captain Amarinder Singh as Punjab Congress chief

NEW DELHI: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has begun meeting his party MLAs of Punjab to seek their views on who should replace PCC president PS Bajwa. Among a dozen party MLAs who met Gandhi on Wednesday, in the first round, more than half pitched for the return of Captain Amarinder Singh as PCC chief even though the high command has been floating the name of Ambika Soni as a compromise candidate.

The exercise began days before Amarinder Singh’s return from abroad. Gandhi is expected to meet another batch of Congress MLAs around October 12. According to sources, MLAs who conveyed their preference for Singh included leader of Opposition Sunil Jhakhar, Lal Singh, Rana Gujeet, Ranajit Singh Sikhri, Sadhan Singh Dharamsood and S Randhawa.

They are learnt to have pitched for Singh’s elevation by arguing that the state Congress, facing an entrenched Akali Dal and challenge from AAP, would need the experience and ‘wider acceptability’ of someone like Singh to lead the state Congress in the next assembly polls.

Though it was the Amarinder camp that triggered the revolt against Rahul-nominee Bajwa, he has no backers left in the PPCC.