Punjab elections: Sidhu-Amarinder infighting could hurt Congress

Analysts say that the rift between Captain Amarinder Singh and Navjot Singh Sidhu is likely to play out poorly for the Congress

Although the Congress may have roped in Navjot Singh Sidhu with an eye on winning the Punjab assembly elections, the big question that looms political circles is whether the party will remain united after the polls are concluded. There is already a section within the Congress which has been demanding that Sidhu be made the chief minister if the the party wins the ballot.

In Amritsar, which is Sidhu's stronghold, cries to make him the CM are the loudest. The campaign is yet to hit top gear and political analysts already say that the rift between Captain Amrinder Singh and Sidhu is likely to play out poorly for the party.

It is an open secret that the relationship between the two men is nothing to go to town about. There has been an uneasy calm between the two and it is only thanks to the high command that the fight has spilled out into the open.

While the Congress has not officially announced a CM candidate for Punjab as yet, sources say that Sidhu during the negotiations was promised the deputy chief minister's post. However, going by the campaign in Amritsar, it appears that Sidhu's followers would want their candidate to be the CM if the Congress wins the elections. There are already slogans being raised in Punjab saying that Sidhu should be made the CM if the Congress wins the polls.

The Congress should be worried about this development. Among the five states that go to polls, the Congress feels its best chance is in Punjab. There is a good chance that rival camps within the Congress will campaign against each other which in the long run could hurt the party.

OneIndia News