Dissident Punjab Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu on Wednesday met former party chief Rahul Gandhi and General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to discuss his role in the revamp in the party's state unit ahead of assembly polls.
At loggerheads with Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, Sidhu has been lobbying for a "respectable" position either in the state Cabinet or party.
After the meeting with Priyanka, Sidhu tweeted a picture with Priyanka and said, "had a long meeting with @priyankagandhi-ji." On Tuesday, Sidhu had said that he would be meeting Rahul but the latter denied saying that there was nothing on his schedule.
However in the evening, Sidhu drove to Rahul Gandhi's residence for a meeting.
Sidhu, who has been a Deputy Chief Minister under Amarinder, has been at loggerheads with the Punjab Chief Minister from the beginning. He had resigned from the Punjab Cabinet after he was divested of the local bodies portfolio in 2019
The former cricketer, who joined Congress after a stint in BJP where he was MP, is not inclined to work under Singh and wants to be at least party chief before Assembly polls.
Sources said the party's central leadership is working on a formula to present a united face ahead of Assembly polls early next year.
Rahul has been meeting party leaders from Punjab for their views on the political situation and steps needed to strengthen the party ahead of the 2022 assembly polls.
Sidhu has raised a rebellion over the "delay" in justice in the 2015 incidents of sacrilege and subsequent police firing while Singh found fault with Sidhu for continuously attacking him and described his actions as "total indiscipline".
Congress had set up a three-member committee headed by senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge to resolve the infighting. Both Sidhu and Singh had appeared before the committee.
Published 30 June 2021, 05:56 IST