Singh met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Friday before going public with his vote of no-confidence in Partap Singh Bajwa, attesting to the murmurs that he was peeved at the party brass not heeding his repeated calls to oust the Punjab unit head.
"We need strong leadership to win the elections in Punjab, and I don't think Bajwa can win the state for us," he told reporters.
Singh stayed away from Lok Sabha during the winter session of Parliament despite being the party's deputy leader in Lok Sabha, his absence attributed to his sulk over Bajwa. While he is said to be keen to wrest back the reins of Punjab Congress, he did not say so to reporters while seeking Bajwa's ouster.
Bajwa expressed displeasure at his bete-noire's "transgression", saying, "It was an internal meeting of Amarinder Singh with Sonia, and he should not have crossed the laxman rekha by speaking to the media." He added, "I never spoke against him when he lost successive elections, so he should adhere to party discipline and help me in our fight against the Akali-BJP government."
The speculation over Congress leadership in Punjab started the day the party failed to capitalize on the anti-Akali mood in Lok Sabha elections despite being the principal opposition and the newbie Aam Aadmi Party gained at its expense.
But while Congress tanked, Amarinder won the high-profile election against BJP biggie Arun Jaitley from Amritsar, getting a leg-up after the slide he suffered with the party's second successive defeat to Akalis in state elections under his leadership.
The unedifying sight of public battle for party reins in Punjab raised many eyebrows, with leaders seeing it as Singh's attempt to force the leadership's hand at a time when it is perceived to be weak owing to the decimation in Lok Sabha polls.
Singh is reported to have discussed with Sonia the need to replace Bajwa while also lobbying with Rahul Gandhi for immediate change in the state leadership.
http://ift.tt/1nefEDd Gandhi,Punjab Congress,Partap Singh Bajwa,Amarinder Singh
Stay updated on the go with The Times of India’s mobile apps. Click here to download it for your device.
0 comments:
Post a Comment