Punjab Congress Conundrum In Endgame? Sidhu To Bag Big Role, Cabinet Reshuffle Likely

The development comes a day after Sidhu met the upper echelons of the Congress party including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

(File Photos/ Getty)

New Delhi: The ongoing discord in Punjab Congress might soon come to an end as party high-command is said to make a major announcement soon reportedly inducting cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu in the state cabinet.

According to sources close to ABP News, Sidhu, who has been in loggerheads with Punjan Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, might get a big responsibility.

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The development comes a day after Sidhu met the upper echelons of the Congress party including former president Rahul Gadhi and All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the national capital on Tuesday.

Amid the ongoing tussle between the two factions and the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections, Congress high command is trying to work out a plausible solution to end the anti-incumbency wave by reshuffling the cabinet.

Earlier in the day, Amarinder Singh called a meeting with party MLAs in Chandigarh which lasted for hours. After the meeting, Singh took to Twitter and said that he had a fruitful discussion with senior Congress colleagues from urban areas of Punjab which will strengthen the party at grassroot level.

After Sidhu's meeting with Rahul Gandhi yesterday, there were no words about what transpired between the two, but sources believe that Sidhu may agree to his new role that the Gandhis have for him in the revamped state unit of the party ahead of next year's Assembly polls.

Hectic activities is being seen in Congress as AICC general secretary in-charge of Punjab Harish Rawat and Mallikarjun Kharge had a separate meeting and are learnt to have discussed the new formula being worked out. 

Meanwhile, PTI sources say that Sidhu has refused to accept the deputy chief minister's post and is eyeing the post of state Congress chief.

Congress high-command does not want Sidhu to quit the party at this crucial stage when elections are only a few months away in Punjab. Rahul Gandhi has met almost all prominent Congress leaders from Punjab, including MLAs, MPs, ministers and former state party chiefs.