Poll strategist Prashant Kishor's meeting with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Tuesday has raised speculation that the man behind Mamata Banerjee's recent victory against BJP is likely to be roped in for Punjab elections next year.
Though there is no official word on the outcome of the meeting, it was learnt that Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal was also present and Punjab elections were discussed as Kishor has been advising Chief Minister Amarinder Singh alrady on key political issues.
When the Punjab Chief Minister was in Delhi to meet interim party chief Sonia Gandhi, he had also met Kishor. The Congress is likely to come with amicable formula for Punjab this week as infighting within the state unit has not de-escalated and Kishor's role is considered key to resolve the infighting.
Infighting continues
Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, who has taken up arms against Amarinder Singh, has met party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the recent past.
A three-member committee, headed by senior party leader Mallikarjuna Kharge, had been set up to resolve the matter and had submitted its report. Amarinder Singh and Sidhu, among other state leaders, had also met the committee members.
As infighting escalates, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh is likely to meet Sonia Gandhi and apprise his side of the story to the interim Congress President in the backdrop of the suggestions made by the party high command changes in the state unit of the party.
The disgruntled Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu met Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rahul Gandhi early this month with the outcome described to be in favour of Sidhu's name emerging as the Punjab Congress chief ahead of the elections. However, Amarinder Singh and some of the other factions in the party are not accepting this formula as the Chief Minister is keen on having a non-Sikh face as the state Congress President.
Meanwhile, Amarinder Singh had called the MLAs supporting him for lunch in Chandigarh the day Sidhu left for Delhi, which had upset the party high command as it was viewed it as a show of strength, especially after the panel formed by the Congress to look into the Punjab issue said that there is no question of removing the Chief Minister.
(With inputs from IANS)
