Capt emerges a strong leader
Friday, 06/06/2014
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140606/punjab.htm#9
Almost written off a few months ahead of the parliamentary poll, Capt Amarinder Singh is back in the political arena as Deputy Leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party. A reluctant Amarinder was asked by the party high command to take on BJP stalwart Arun Jaitley in Amritsar. He trounced his opponent by more than a lakh votes.
In the other hand, his archrival in the party, PPCC chief Partap Singh Bajwa lost to BJP candidate Vinod Khanna in Gurdaspur by a huge margin of about 1.3 lakh votes.
Amarinder's candidature for the Amritsar constituency was said to have been suggested by the PPCC chief.
Having defeated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s confidant, Amarinder has emerged a tall leader.
The Congress high command, it is learnt, chose Amarinder as Deputy Leader for his oratorical skills. he is known to speak his mind without fear.
Amarinder’s elevation has boosted the morale of Congress leaders in the state. “He has the ability to lead from the front. He is sure to raise issues confronting Punjab in the Lok Sabha,” said former minister Chaudhary Jagjit Singh.
Senior Congress leaders close to both Amarinder and Bajwa have started to broker peace between the two. “The party has suffered enough. We are trying to bring them closer,” said a party general secretary.
Former Deputy Speaker Bir Devinder Singh said: "This is certainly an honour for Punjab. Such a pivotal role has been assigned to a leader from the state after almost four decades."
Former MLA Satwant Singh Mohi said Amarinder, being of the senior most leaders in the party, deserved the position of Deputy Leader.