Loyalists want to see Capt at the helm
Wednesday, 17/06/2015
http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Tribune/
Chandigarh : Capt Amarinder Singh got a shot in the arm as more than 24 state Congress legislators and a number of former MLAs and senior party leaders participated in his luncheon meeting at his residence here today.
The leaders engaged in a one-on-one interaction with the veteran leader and exhorted him to initiate a mass contact programme in the state to strengthen the party base and to oppose the “anti-people” policies of the SAD-BJP government.
Amarinder, highly placed sources said, accepted their suggestions and assured them of his participation in such events.
The leaders told Amarinder that a strong leadership in the state was the need of the hour and only he (Amarinder) could fill the void. Captain was not available for comment. Kapurthala MLA Rana Gurjit Singh claimed more than 25 MLAs and seven former MLAs held discussions with the veteran leader.
The meeting is being seen as a “show of strength” in the political circles in the wake of Captain’s recent parleys with AICC president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi over the issue of change of guard in the state Congress.
Amarinder has been lobbying hard with the party high command to replace his bête-noire and PPCC chief Partap Singh Bajwa alleging that the latter has not been taking the party MLA’s along and would not be able to ensure party’s victory in the 2017 Assembly poll.
Those present included Kewal Dhillon, Rana Gurjit Singh, Karan Brar, Mohd Sadique, Sukhjinder Randhawa, Gurkirat Kotli, Gur Iqbal Kaur, Ajaib Singh Bhatti, Amrik Dhillon, Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, Raj Kumar Verka, Harchand Kaur, Sukhbinder Sarkaria and Rajnish Babbi (Independent Mukerian MLA), Makhan Singh, Rana KP Singh, Madan Lal, Luv Kumar Goldi, Surjit Dhiman, Satnam Kainth, Balbir Singh Sidhu, Sukh Sarkaria, Tarlochan Soondh, Charanjit Channi and Tripat Rajinder Singh Bajwa.
All of these leaders are considered to be staunch supporters of Amarinder. Their presence in the meeting indicates that Captain has been able to “keep his flock together” despite the party high command’s “nonchalant” stance over the issue of state party leadership.
