Punjab polls 2017: From Sidhu joining Congress to BJP's Vijay Sampla quitting rumours, the state is seeing it all

Punjab BJP chief Vijay Sampla said there were rumours that he had expressed his desire to quit, apparently because he is not happy with the ticket distribution.

Rahul Gandhi and Navjot Singh Sidhu — Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu with Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.Twitter/Navjot Singh Sidhu

Punjab BJP chief Vijay Sampla offered to quit from his position on Tuesday (January 17), adding to the ever-changing political equations in a state where the Assembly elections are just weeks away (February 4). With cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu joining the Congress after leaving the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) emerging as a strong contender, the poll scenario is truly muddled.

Also read: Navjot Singh Sidhu joins Congress ahead of Punjab Assembly Elections 2017

Sidhu's googly

Sidhu's quitting the BJP – on whose ticket he had been a member of the Rajya Sabha – has been a blow to the saffron party. However, the BJP would have been content even if he had joined the AAP, as had been rumoured after he resigned from the Upper House of Parliament. They would have also been content if he had started his own political party, like he had spoken of.

However, when Sidhu joined the Congress, he dealt the BJP a big political blow, despite he not being a huge political figure in Punjab. Sidhu is more a trophy for the Congress than a strong political leader: He is a sign of weakening of the Punjab BJP.

BJP further weakened

And that notion of the Punjab BJP being weakened only strengthened on Tuesday when rumours started swirling that its chief Vijay Sampla had offered to quit the post. The development certainly speaks of discord within the party unit which can lead to more discord as the succession games come into play.

The reason behind Sampla's desire to quit has been pointed out to be his displeasure with the manner in which poll tickets were distributed. The BJP announced its final list of candidates on Tuesday, and here too there were some unexpected changes. Sitting state Cabinet minister Madan Mohan Mittal's name was not in the list of the six candidates announced.

Sampla, however, later clarified that he had never expressed any desire to quit as the Punjab BJP chief, thereby quashing the rumours.