Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Monday launched a scathing attack on Punjab Lok Congress chief and former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh days after he formed an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for next year’s assembly elections in the state.
Sidhu also attacked the former senior Congress leader by labelling him as an “arrogant king”.
“Captain said that doors have been closed for Sidhu, but today he is sitting at home and licking the feet of [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi,” Sidhu was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Last Friday, Amarinder Singh announced an alliance of his Punjab Lok Congress with the BJP. The former Punjab chief minister met Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who is also the BJP’s election-in-charge for the poll-bound state, to firm up the alliance.
“We are ready and we are going to win this election. The decision on seat-sharing will be taken on a seat-to-seat basis, with winnability being the priority. We are 101% sure of winning this election,” Amarinder Singh said after the announcement of the alliance with the BJP.
People familiar with the developments said the BJP is most likely to be the senior partner in the alliance. The people mentioned above also said that the Punjab Lok Congress may contest in at least 60 out of the 117 seats.
Amarinder has also said both parties are in talks with Rajya Sabha member Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa’s Akali Dal (Sanyukt) and will meet soon to discuss seat sharing in the coming days.
Singh played a decisive role in bringing the Congress to power in 2017 and the infighting and factionalism within the party as well as differences with Navjot Sidhu led to his exit.
On November 2, Amarinder Singh quit Congress and later formed his own party.
