The Punjab Congress row further escalated on Friday with Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh writing an anguished letter to party chief Sonia Gandhi as the countdown to a final decision on the vexed issue began after Navjot Singh Sidhu met Sonia, Rahul Gandhi and the party in-charge of Punjab affairs Harish Rawat earlier in the day.
In his letter, Singh is learnt to have expressed his serious reservation over the possible appointment of Sidhu as the state party chief, saying it can adversely impact the party's prospects in the polls. Singh has raised the issue of "ignoring the old guard". Both Rawat and Sidhu, who is in Delhi, remained tight-lipped. The former is likely to meet the CM in Chandigarh on Saturday.
On Thursday, both Singh and Sidhu held separate meetings with their supporters in Chandigarh after Rawat's remarks to a TV channel fuelled speculation that Sidhu is tipped to be the PCC chief.
While the local media reported that a miffed Singh may not contest or campaign for the party, the CM's advisor had, hours after Rawat's clarification that he did not say Sidhu will become PCC chief, took to Twitter to clarify that talks about him withdrawing from the contest are speculation and that the Chief Minister will lead from the front to make Congress victorious in the upcoming Assembly polls.
On Friday, Rawat tried to downplay his remarks. "Who said so? Please read my statement very carefully and try to understand the words and their meanings," he said when asked whether Sidhu is getting the state chief's post.
Earlier in the morning, former I&B Minister Manish Tewari, who is close to Singh, advanced the Chief Minister's social representation argument, tweeting about the electoral importance of communities.
Talking about the demographics of Punjab, Tewari flagged that while 57.75 per cent population of electorates are Sikhs, the Hindus are 39.49%. Of this, Dalits are 31.94%, which comprise both Sikhs and Hindus.
Tewari argued Punjab is both progressive and secular but balancing social interest groups is the key, which is required for maintaining the principle of equality.
One of the arguments advanced by the Captain camp was that two Jat Sikhs (community to which he and Sidhu both belong) cannot occupy two top slots in the state politics.
The AICC was earlier working on a formula of having two working presidents—a Dalit and a Hindu face to balance the caste equations and names doing rounds were Vijay Inder Singla and MP Santokh Chaudhary respectively. The Amarinder camp was earlier keen on either Manish Tewari or Singla for the chief's post. Incidentally, both of them are Hindus, and the incumbent chief Sunil Jakhar, who is to be replaced, is a Hindu.
If the dissension festers further, it can damage Congress substantially, which is otherwise hopeful of a comeback in Punjab despite a strong incumbency wave against the Singh government. The Assembly election is going to be a four-cornered contest between Congress, SAD-BSP alliance, AAP and BJP. With SAD and AAP already in campaign mode, Congress is running short of time and a decision is likely to be made very soon, sources say.