Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi meet Prashant Kishor: Punjab resolution soon?

Amid broad indications of a resolution of the vicious internal squabble in the party in poll-bound Punjab, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi met poll strategist Prashant Kishor, who has been appointed as political advisor of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.

Sources said the two-hour-long saw discussions on various issues including the one related to Punjab politics. The meeting comes ahead of an impending Cabinet and party reshuffle in the state.

Also read — Punjab cabinet to see rejig, Amarinder to remain CM: Report

After the meeting at 12, Tughlaq Lane, the official residence of Rahul Gandhi, AICC general secretary Punjab-in-charge Harish Rawat said "good news for both (Captain Amarinder and Navjot Singh Sidhu) will come out in three-four days".

Downplaying contentions that Gandhis met Kishor because he advises the Punjab chief minister, Rawat said, "It has nothing to do with who advises whom. Rahul Gandhi is a national leader. A number of people meet him to discuss important issues."

The AICC leader had earlier said that Punjab will have a new state Congress chief but did not name Sidhu or anybody else even as he clearly stated that Captain Amarinder Singh is the Chief Ministerial candidate.

While Singh and Sidhu had a vitriolic war of words in recent months, Sidhu off late had refrained from attacking the Captain. The party leadership cited his tweets critical of AAP and SAD as signs of a thaw days after both leaders held multiple rounds of meetings with a three-member AICC panel helmed by Mallikarjun Kharge to resolve the crisis.

Read | Amarinder and Sidhu try running each other out

Sidhu's latest tweet saying our Opposition singing about "me and other loyal Congressmen'' has been seen as a sign that he is not thinking of leaving the party or joining AAP, which was in strong speculation. The next line of Sidhu's tweet parodied a famous Bollywood song to say: "There is no issue if you will join AAP but there will be a problem if you remain in Congress." The original line in the song is "Tum Agar Mujhko Na Chaho Koi Baat Nahin, Kisi aur ko chahogi to mushkil hogi (There is no issue if you do not love me but there will be a problem if you love somebody else)."

He earlier took potshots at AAP, saying the party which is now criticising him has praised him in the past. "Our opposition AAP has always recognised my vision and work for Punjab. Be it before 2017- Beadbi, Drugs, Farmers Issues, Corruption & Power Crisis faced by People of Punjab raised by me or today as I present "Punjab Model" It is clear they know - who is really fighting for Punjab," Sidhu said in a series of tweets.

Also read — Navjot Singh Sidhu slams AAP govt in Delhi over electricity issue

It remains to be seen whether Sidhu gets the coveted post of PCC chief. Jyotiradya Scindia, who had run in dispute with former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, could not get PCC chief and later left the party and joined the BJP, which cost Congress a government in Madhya Pradesh, while the formulae of making Ashok Gehlot as Chief Minister and Sachin Pilot as PCC chief in Rajasthan in past, failed to resolve their mutual rivalry.

There are different views in the party about handing over the baton of state party chief to Sidhu, who had met both Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi earlier. After meeting Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Captain, on his part, said publicly that he will accept any decision taken by her. Sources in the party, however, say Captain will not like the idea of a double power centre in the state.

AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal was also present in the meeting.

Kishor met the Congress leaders days after he had a meeting with Amarinder Singh.

Kishor had finalised the poll strategy of the Congress-Samajwadi Party alliance in Uttar Pradesh in 2017, coining the slogan 'UP Ke Ladke' for Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, and oversaw the entire campaign theme of Congress for Punjab.

While personality centric campaign strategy of Kishor around Captain Amarinder Singh helped Congress win the state, the Congress-Samajwadi Party alliance failed to yield results and Kishor had later complained that many of his suggestions were not accepted---including making Priyanka Gandhi the face of Congress in the state when it was planning to go solo. This was the first meeting of Rahul Gandhi with Prashant Kishor after 2017.