M A I N   N E W S

Not being in any group clinched it for Bajwa
Ajay Banerjee/TNS

He’s here to stay Partap Singh Bajwa, Jagmeet Brar, Lal Singh and even Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, a consensus candidate, were in the race to replace Amarinder as party state unit chief Bajwa’s candidature got a boost with Rahul Gandhi taking over as party vice-president His distance from the squabbling camps led by Brar, Bhattal and Amarinder considerably tilted the scales in his favour A senior central party leader said Bajwa was here to stay till the 2017 Assembly polls and was definitely not a stop-gap arrangement

New Delhi, March 6
Not only did Partap Singh Bajwa beat his contenders to become the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president, his appointment conveyed a strong message from the high command: it has moved beyond the Amarinder-Bhattal-Dullo troika and Bajwa is here to stay.

Bajwa, the Congress’ Gurdaspur MP, Jagmeet Brar, Lal Singh and even Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, a consensus candidate, were in the race to replace Amarinder Singh as party state unit chief. Shamsher Singh Dullo was not in the reckoning, but his voice is heard in the party central leadership among sections championing the cause of Dalits. With Sunil Jakhar being the state Congress Legislature Party leader, it was expected that the PPCC chief would be from the Sikh community, said a senior Central leader. He said Bajwa was here to stay till the 2017 Assembly polls in the state and was definitely not a stop-gap arrangement. While Jagmeet Brar’s Jat Sikh lineage was his strength, Lal Singh’s OBC status and Bhattal’s past experience case bolstered their cases. Bajwa’s candidature got a boost with Rahul Gandhi taking over the party. It was almost like what had happened when his father Rajiv Gandhi emerged on the party scene: he hand-picked his men. A big factor in Bajwa’s favour was his distance from the squabbling camps in the state unit led by Brar, Bhattal and Amarinder.

At one point, Lal Singh, who enjoys Sonia Gandhi’s confidence, was the front-runner for PPCC chief, but insiders says his advancing age went against him.

Reacting to the change in guard in the state, Amarinder Singh said he was not consulted on the decision to appoint Bajwa as PPCC chief. “Had I been consulted, I would have suggested another name. But I will fully cooperate with Bajwa.”

Responding to Amarinder, Congress’ Ferozepore-City MLA Parminder Singh said appointing the PPCC chief is the high command’s prerogative and it did not need to ask Amarinder. “This is a decision of the high command and we welcome it,” he said.

Other than Amarinder, other party leaders have backed Bajwa. Welcoming the change, Ambika Soni said, “Hope we now have the collective endurance to win more seats.”

Former PPCC chief Varindra Kataria hailed Bajwa’s appointment and said Amarinder’s ouster was “good riddance from the feudal set up of a coterie of a feudal Maharaja. It is a good omen for the Congress in Punjab.”

Surinder Singla, who was finance minister during Amarinder’s term as Chief Minister (2002-07) said, “I welcome the high command’s decision. The best part is Bajwa is not from any group.” Party’s Guru Harsahai MLA Rana Gurmit Sodhi said, “I hope Bajwa carries everybody along.”