Senior Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu may soon become the latest politician to join the BJP ranks ahead of Lok Sabha polls. Reports quoting sources indicate that the former Punjab Congress chief and three other state MLAs are looking to switch allegiances by next week. The development came amid growing calls for disciplinary action against Sidhu for holding individual rallies and parallel meetings.
“Will address a press conference at Patiala , 26 Yadavindra Colony, Mall Road at my residence at 12.15 Noon ! All invited for this conference on farmer issues …” read a terse message from the politician shared on X.
The reports come mere days after prominent Congress leaders including Ashok Chavan, Milind Deora and C Raghunath made their way to the BJP. Speculative reports suggest that former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath and his son — Chhindwara MP Nakul Nath — may also follow suit. Supporters including former minister Sajjan Singh Verma also removed Congress from their social media bios on Saturday.
Nath had reportedly established communication with leaders from the BJP after being held responsible by the Congress high command for the party’s poor performance in the Madhya Pradesh elections. Heaced removal from the position of Madhya Pradesh Congress president and was not appointed as the leader of opposition in the state assembly. He is also said to be disgruntled over not getting a Rajya Sabha berth. Rahul Gandhi has reportedly been opposed to him since the party lost the assembly polls late last year.
According to a recent India Today report quoting sources, senior party leaders have sought disciplinary action against Sidhu over his recent conduct. The development came after the Punjab Congress Election Committee member skipped a meeting. Sidhu instead led a parallel meeting in a show of strength and shared pictures from the event on social media.
Infighting in the Punjab Congress came to the fore last month after the former cricketer started holding rallies without consulting the party’s state unit. Leader of opposition in the Punjab assembly Partap Singh Bajwa had asked him to join the party’s programmes instead of setting up his “own stage” amid growing outrage in the Congress ranks”
(With inputs from agencies)
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Published: 17 Feb 2024, 09:35 PM IST