Capt-Bajwa stand-off worries Congress high command - BAJWA MAY BE REPLACED, CAPTAIN MAY LEAD PARTY IN NEXT POLLS

Thursday, 15/01/2015

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Chandigarh : The factional feud in its Punjab unit has worried the Congress high command. With Congress Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha Captain Amarinder Singh and his bête-noir Punjab Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa continue to be on a collision course, the party high command is contemplating to step in to work out a solution.

The development assumes significance as it came a day after Congress had downplayed as a ‘minor’ issue the factional feud in its Punjab unit describing it as ‘minor issues of thought processes and leadership’ that will be ironed out.

Though the party expects that both Capt Amarinder and Bajwa resolve the issue together, there is also a likelihood of some third person being made the PPCC chief while Capt Amarinder being assured the post of the party’s Campaign Committee chief and face for the assembly elections due in 2017.

The view in the party is that while there is no question that Captain is the most prominent face of Congress in Punjab, he should not be taking the confrontation to “a point of no return” as the party high command will look like knuckling under pressure if his insistence for immediate ouster of Bajwa as PCC chief was accepted.

“It all depends on how things pan out in the coming days,” a leader privy to the development in national capital viewed.

Even as Captain, a permanent invitee to Congress Working Committee, did not attend the meeting of the party’s highest decision making body which discussed its way ahead after the worst-ever poll debacle in 2014 general elections, party general secretary in-charge of organisation, Janardan Dwivedi, however, downplayed it saying Cap Amarinder had already informed about his inability to attend the meeting in advance.

It learnt that the party was dealing with the Punjab problem with the intervention at a higher level.

Capt Amarinder had on Sunday rallied his supporters, including most of MLAs, and announced the start of the party’s campaign to take on ruling SAD-BJP with a January 22 rally at the luncheon meet in which his bête-noire Bajwa was not even invited.

Bajwa later said that he welcomed the “belated initiative” by Captain aimed at taking on SAD-BJP alliance with a rally on January 22 at Amritsar but clarified that the event would be held under the party’s umbrella.

The show of strength in Punjab had come soon after Capt Amarinder met Congress president Sonia Gandhi in Delhi and was understood to have sought removal of Bajwa as PPCC chief.