Amlendu Bhushan Khan / New Delhi : The mystery of Congress is getting complicated in Punjab after rejection of Ambika Soni CM chair. The suspense over the successor to Capt Amarinder Singh just got a little longer with the CLP awaiting the final nod from Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
Sources said tentatively the new CLP leader is scheduled to take oath on Sunday around 4 pm. Earlier, reports from the CLP meeting had suggested that another meeting would be re-convened on Sunday at 11 am to choose the successor. However, sources now tell The Tribune that instead of a full-fledged meeting, the final name from high command would be intimated to the legislators and subsequently the Governor called on.
Yesterday amid reports of AICC general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Ambika Soni’s reluctance to accept the responsibility of the new Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader, AICC-appointed observers Harish Chaudhary and Ajay Maken, and Punjab affairs incharge Harish Rawat had deferred the decision on announcement of the new leader.
Punjab affairs incharge Harish Rawat, AICC-appointed observerAjay Maken and PCC chief Navjot Sidhu in Chandigarh. Pradeep Tewari
Top brass keen on Hindu face
With Hindu face as the CM, the party may appoint a Jat leader and a Dalit face as Deputy Chief Ministers to balance the caste equation. — A senior Congress leader
Within hours of Capt Amarinder Singh resigning as the Chief Minister, 78 party MLAs unanimously passed a resolution authorising party president Sonia Gandhi to decide on the new leader of the CLP. The other front-runners for the post are former PCC chief Sunil Jakhar and MLA Sukhjinder Randhawa.
The resolution was moved by senior party leader Brahm Mohindra. Another resolution moved by observer Maken appreciated the work done by Capt Amarinder Singh during his four-and-a-half-year tenure. Capt Amarinder stayed away from the meeting. Both resolutions have been forwarded to the party chief for a final call.
Efforts were still on to pursue Soni to accept the responsibility as she was the only consensus candidate. Senior leader such as Partap Bajwa and Sidhu are learnt to have reservations over Jakhar’s candidature. Contenders such as Sukhjinder Randhawa and Charanjit Channi may agree to Soni’s name, given her seniority. Sources said the top brass was keen on putting up a Hindu face as the CLP leader. “With Hindu face as the CM, the party may appoint a Jat leader and a Dalit face as Deputy Chief Ministers to balance the caste equation. Apart from Jakhar, senior leader Brahm Mohindra is another Hindu face,” said a senior party leader.
Sources said as the meeting started and the resolution was signed by the legislators, party leaders on the sidelines took up with Rawat whether to name a Hindu face as the CLP leader or the Sikh leaders who “waged the war” against Capt Amarinder.
