Amarinder Singh to lead poll fray: Congress after 'Remove Captain' calls

New Delhi, Aug 25: Congress's central leadership on Wednesday backed Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's leadership in the upcoming Assembly polls in Punjab after a section of party leaders renewed their rebellion against his leadership.

"We will contest 2022 Punjab elections under the leadership of Captain Amarinder Singh," said Harish Rawat, who is the party in-charge in the state.

Earlier in the day, four Punjab ministers Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Charanjit Singh Channi had met Harish Rawat in Dehradun.

These ministers, known detractors of Amarinder Singh, and around two dozen legislators on Tuesday had held a meeting here and sought replacement of the chief minister, saying they have "lost faith in him" over the issue of unfulfilled promises.

They had questioned the ability of the CM in honouring the unfulfilled poll promises such as delay in justice in desecration of a religious text in 2015, arrest of "big fish" involved in drug rackets and scrapping power purchase agreements.

They also said that they would meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi to apprise her of the sentiments prevailing in the party.

They had held a meeting amid severe criticism of two advisers of Punjab Congress Chief Navjot Singh Sidhu for making controversial remarks on sensitive issues like Kashmir and Pakistan.

The demand for seeking replacement of the CM has pushed the Punjab Congress into a fresh crisis. It also indicated that the party''s recent efforts to quell dissent in the state unit with Sidhu''s appointment have come a cropper.