Amarinder Singh resigns as Chief Minister of Punjab

“I had informed Congress President Sonia Gandhi this morning that I will tender my resignation today. There was an element of doubt in the party that I cannot run the government. I feel humiliated myself.

He further told that he will continue to be a part of the Congress party. “I will discuss with my supporters and decide the course of action,” he said.

Singh said that the party high command can make whoever has confidence in the next CM.

This development has come just four months before the assembly elections in Punjab.

Earlier in the day, Amarinder Singh’s son Raninder had confirmed that the CM would tender his resignation amid the power struggle in Punjab.

Raninder wrote on Twitter, “…I must go now as I am proud to accompany my father to the Raj Bhavan when he submits his resignation as the CM of Punjab and takes us as the head of our family. Huh.”

The decision came after a meeting of MLAs close to the Chief Minister at his official residence in Chandigarh.

The state had come out against factionalism in the Congress as 50 MLAs wrote to Sonia Gandhi on Saturday demanding replacement of Amarinder Singh as the chief minister.

When the tussle in Punjab intensified in August, the party’s central leadership sought to bury the hat-trick by appointing Navjot Singh Sidhu as Congress chief against Amarinder Singh’s wishes.

Singh, who was a captain during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, was sworn in as the 26th Chief Minister of Punjab in 2017, when the Congress won the assembly elections with a majority.

He served as the President of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee from 2010 to 2013.

Singh had served as a member of the Punjab Legislative Assembly representing Patiala (Urban) five times and Samana and Talwandi Sabo once each.

In 2015, he was again elected as the President of Punjab Congress. Singh resigned from the Lok Sabha on 23 November 2016 and devoted himself completely to the Punjab elections and the party came to power in the state with a majority.