Navjot’s name creates buzz in Punjab BJP

Saturday, 30/01/2016

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Chandigarh : Amidst rumours that former Amritsar MP Navjot Singh Sidhu is set to join Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), a report of him being considered for the position of state president has created a strong buzz in the party’s organisational corridors.

With the authenticity of the report being questionable for no one coming on record to establish it, the fresh buzz made all the party leaders busy in discussing the pros and cons of it with people also going into airing their prejudices.

It’s learnt that Navjot’s name was discussed for appointing the state unit head during the meeting of parliamentary board assembled for the first time after Amit Shah’s re-election in New Delhi.

Sources privy to the discussions informed that a senior member of Central leadership proposed Sidhu’s name for Punjab unit head which was endorsed by the majority but before it could be approved, Sidhu raised an objection.

He had reservations against the SAD-BJP alliance in Punjab as he had already uttered so many things against the Shiromani Akali Dal that he expressed inability to work with the alliance partner. Observing his reaction, the senior leadership deferred the move and asked to put the issue on hold for indefinite period, as learnt.

Meanwhile, as the board also cleared the name of Sarbananda Sonowal, the Union Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs, as the party’s chief ministerial candidate for the assembly elections in Assam, due in four months, someone within the board also floated another scheme of replacing Sonowal with Sidhu for him being a renowned cricketer of past.

“As the agenda of the board meeting was not Punjab so with both options of accommodating Sidhu left open for discussions, the board simply dispersed without spending much time in discussing it,” informed BJP sources.

Meanwhile, the percolating of the report made all BJP leaders and activists busy in Punjab.

If a section of BJP leaders termed Sidhu’s elevation as Punjab head a most likely happening, the other group was busy in refuting the reports stating that it was a planned move (to create buzz) for making ground for Sidhu.

There were otherwise three names in the discussion for the post as of now-sitting president Kamal Sharma, former president Ashwani Sharma and sitting Rajya Sabha member Arvind Khanna. And among the three, Khanna was learnt to be least interested.

It was quite interesting to dig the details of the fresh discussions as the BJP camps (within the state unit) were found being in a cloak and dagger situation against each other.

On the other hand, enjoying the rumours in the air, a senior Akali leader quipped: “Badal Sahib has time-tested relationship with the BJP’s Central leadership and the stalwarts from both sides understand the things quite deeply so the local leaders’ tussle for one-upmanship hardly matters to us. The alliance is intact and it will remain so, irrespective of the personal feelings of the man elected or nominated as saffron party’s Punjab head.”