Is Congress making it difficult for Amarinder Singh to win Punjab again?
Of the five states going to the polls early next year, the Congress has its best chances in Punjab  others are Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa. Here, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has managed to seize political initiative by realising sooner than others that the farmers were in for a longer battle over the new farm laws. The Opposition in Punjab comprising the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was divided. The AAP is facing internal strife. The SAD has looked listless after a delayed decision to quit the Narendra Modi government over the farm bills. And, the BJP has never got enough ground support in Punjab. Captain Amarinder Singh had won the 2017 Punjab Assembly polls despite first surgical strike by the Modi government a few months ago, a united SAD-BJP coalition and a rising AAP. This is the story of the Congress. DECENTRALISED POWER  The party is more likely to win an election in states where it has strong regional leaders: Ashok Gehlot in Rajasthan and Bhupesh Baghel in Chhattisgarh. A divided Madhya Pradesh Congress saw the party lose power despite winning the election. In pre-2016 Assam, Tarun Gogoi won three consecutive assembly elections for the Congress. In 2011 Assam Assembly election, a joke was circulating among the political circles in the state that Tarun Gogoi wanted the party high command to stay away from the polls so that he could be confident of winning power. Captain Amarinder Singh faces a similar situation in Punjab where he must be praying that the party high command allowed him to focus all his energy on winning the assembly polls due in eight months. He has battled infighting largely maintaining his sway in the past almost four-and-a-half years. Dissidence has revived in the Punjab Congress with resurgent Navjot Singh Sidhu leading the charge against Captain Amarinder Singh. Navjot Sidhu had quit the Amarinder government in 2019 over political differences, which some say was an ego-tussle. Reports say that Navjot Sidhu eyes the role of Punjab Congress chief for the next years assembly polls. It would set the stage for another round of clashes between Navjot Sidhu and Captain Amarinder Singh  both are Jat Sikh. The serving chief minister was summoned last week to New Delhi to appear before a Congress committee to defend his style of functioning and the policies of the government. Among other things, Captain Amarinder Singh is believed to have told the Congress panel that its Punjab unit should not be headed by a Jat Sikh as the state government is being run by one. Captain Amarinder Singh defended his case before a committee which was formed by party president Sonia Gandhi and comprised Mallikarjun Kharge (Karnataka), Harish Rawat (Uttarakhand) and JP Aggarwal (Delhi). Incidentally, none of Congress committee members enjoyed the political muscle in their respective states as Captain Amarinder Singh does in Punjab. Another contrast was that Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra reportedly had a separate discussion with the Congress committee members through video-conferencing. This reflects eroding loss of confidence of the Congress high command in Captain Amarinder Singh  a friend of Rajiv Gandhi and family loyalist since the assassination of the former prime minister  is that he was not asked to appear before Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi or even Priyanka Gandhi. Captain Amarinder Singh was not given the privilege of virtual appearance before the committee unlike interaction between the Gandhis and the panel. WHY PUNJAB MATTERS FOR CONGRESS  While the BJP appears shell-shocked following its defeat in West Bengal despite improved performances in all assembly polls held during April-May, the Congress suffered almost a rout even in Kerala, from where Rahul Gandhi is a Lok Sabha MP. This makes retaining Punjab a crucial political question for the Congress. The Congress lost assembly polls in neighbouring Haryana in 2019 and many old-timers blamed it on the Congress high commands decision to ignore veteran Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who was considered too old and too independent to declare him the chief ministerial face. Hooda is still believed to be the most popular Congress leader in Haryana. Captain Amarinder Singh too has advancing age against him. He will turn 80 when Punjab would be holding assembly election in 2022. The Congress needs to find his replacement in Punjab. However, as things stand for the Congress in Punjab today, the party does not seem to be in a position to win an electoral match with a subdued Captain playing under the shadow of a former cricketer.