The Congress high command had directed Congress general secretary Harish Rawat to bring Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and former Cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu closer as the state was heading for crucial Assembly elections in 2022 in the backdrop of the farmers’ protest against the super-controversial agricultural reform laws. In this context, for the second time in nearly four months, Amarinder Singh and Navjot Singh Sidhu have met over tea at a farmhouse in Siswan near Chandigarh. The meeting happened for nearly 45 minutes, before Sidhu left along with Sports Minister Rana Gurmeet Sodhi. Soon after the meeting Sidhu tweeted, “Azad Raho Vicharoan Se Lekin Raho Sanskaroan Se.. Tankee Aas Aur Vishwas Rahe Kirdaroan pe”, while Amarinder Singh told the media that everyone wanted Navjot to be part of the team. According to sources, Navjot Singh Sidhu is keen to get a key portfolio in the Punjab Cabinet, although Amarinder Singh has already offered him the power ministry portfolio, which has been lying vacant since Sidhu resigned from the Cabinet in July 2019. On the other hand, Harish Rawat has been claiming that Sidhu would be given a bigger responsibility. Sidhu has a good relationship with the Gandhi siblings, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, and this is a factor in his favour, besides the fact that he is seen as an effective campaigner who can help the party at the hustings. Sidhu and Captain Amarinder shared a stage in November in Punjab in the presence of Rahul Gandhi — for the first time since May 2019.
TRIGGERED BY MAMATA’S CAMPAIGN, TV’S ‘RAM’ JOINS BJP
Actor Arun Govil, who played the role of Lord Ram in the famous Ramanand Sagar TV serial Ramayan, has joined the BJP. Govil told the media that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s irritation to the‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogan was a trigger point for him to make the move. Govil asserted that there was nothing wrong in saying ‘Jai Shri Ram’. While TMC leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday that the BJP’s “poriborton” (change) slogan was originally hers and that the saffron party was simply trying to copy her. She Mamata asked the TMC youth workers to remain alert at polling booths on the eight-phase voting days. But the question remains, will the Indian telescreen’s Ram, Govil, persuade Mamata to see otherwise?
CONGRESS-LEFT ALLIANCE TO LAND TOP CAMPAIGNERS IN BENGAL
Another Bihar-based party, the Lok Janashakti Party, has announced it will contest polls in Bengal and Assam and has pitched party chief Chirag Paswan among 15 leaders as star campaigners. Three other MPs, Mehboob Ali Kaiser, Beena Devi and Prince Raj, are also expected to campaign. Meanwhile, Congress’s list of star campaigners for the first two phases of the West Bengal polls starting March 27 contains its top four — president Sonia Gandhi, former PM Manmohan Singh, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. It has also listed three chief ministers — Captain Amarinder Singh, Bhupesh Baghel and Ashok Gehlot — and leaders Sachin Pilot and Navjot Singh Sidhu. CPI leader Kanhaiya Kumar and JNUSU president Aishee Ghosh of the CPI(M) have been named star campaigners for their respective parties. The CPI(M) has named a host of other leaders, including party chief Sitaram Yechury and politburo members Brinda Karat and Md Salim as top campaigners.
NO CONTEST FOR V NARAYANASAMY, DEEMS CONGRESS
The Congress on Wednesday announced that former chief minister V Narayanasamy would not contest. According to Congress inner sources, the high command was upset with him and this was an attempt by the Congress-DMK to keep the realignment option open in the event of a hung verdict. AICC in-charge Dinesh Gundu Rao said: “He himself did not want to contest. We had asked him to look after the campaign. Our PCC president is going to be contesting. He (Narayanasamy) and Lok Sabha MP (and former chief minister) V Vaithilingam will be incharge of the campaign.” On Thursday, the Congress announced 14 of its 15 candidates for the Puducherry assembly elections. Narayanasamy was Chief Minister till last month. He resigned on February 22, after a motion of confidence was defeated in the assembly.
CONGRESS EAGER TO WREST KERALA FROM PINARAYI-LED LDF
The Congress is not in power in any of the four poll-bound states of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam. Still Kerala’s case is more important for the Congress from all the other assemblies. The prime reason why winning Kerala is a matter of prestige for the Congress is because Rahul is a Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad in the state. Rahul Gandhi’s desperation to defeat Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF in Kerala was evident from his remarks made last month in Thiruvananthapuram. He was quoted as saying that for him, going to Kerala was very refreshing because the people were interested in issues, and not just superficially but going into their details. “I was talking to some students in the United States and I said that I really enjoy going to Kerala,” Gandhi said. The second reason why bagging Kerala is crucial for Rahul is because the state has witnessed rotation of power between the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and the CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) for about 40 years – since 1982, to be precise. The third reason is that Congress had won 15 out of 20 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. However, losing Kerala would be a loss of prestige for both the Congress as well as Rahul Gandhi. (IPA)
