|
Sonia serves old
wine in old bottle, makes Bhattal Punjab Cong chief
WSN Bureau
CHANDIGARH:
Having totally failed to project itself even minimally a meaningful
opposition, the Congress in Punjab will now look like old wine in an
old bottle. Relegating to the margins its best known face Amarinder
Singh and banishing to the woods its fiery orator Jagmeet Singh Brar,
the party high command (a typical Indian phrase mostly used only for
the resident of the 10, Janpath, New Delhi) has asked Rajinder Kaur
Bhatal, former CM, to lead the party in the state.
Former minister
Mohinder Singh Kaypee, who is the Congress' dalit face in Punjab, will be
the working president of the party.
The All-India
Congress Committee (AICC) appointed Rajinder Kaur Bhattal on Monday
as president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC), a
major surprise that left many a leader in the state unit red faced.
She replaces Shamsher Singh Dullo who proved to be a miserable
failure but heaped the entire blame on Amarinder Singh.
Bhattal has
pipped to the post former MP Jagmeet Singh Brar, former PWD minister
Partap Singh Bajwa, AICC secretary Iqbal Singh, Brahm Mohindra and
Union Minister of State Ashwani Kumar.
Loyalists of
Bhattal believe that the signal from 10, Janpath meant that the
faith is being reposed in the traditional politician rather than the
maverick image of men like Amarinder Singh.
The appointment
of Mohinder Singh Kaypee as working president is now being
interpreted as a signal that the leader of the legislature party in Punjab
will be from the Hindu community.
The party has
also tried to maintain a regional balance, as Bhattal hails from the
politically significant Malwa region, while Kaypee has a sizeable
following in Doaba.
Bhattal's
appointment brings to an end the months of speculation, intense
lobbying and infighting that had been plaguing the state Congress in
the absence of a full-time president.
One thing is
certain that the Congress in Punjab lacked
any fire in the past few months and the new appointment is hardly
designed to instill any inspiration among the party workers.
Now that it is
clear that Bhattal's political acumen will come under close scrutiny
during the soon expected Lok Sabha polls, the moot question is what
would her leadership fetch the party in the General Election.
Bhattal is known for her "soft stance" against Parkash Singh Badal
regime due to certain compulsions, and Badal had even alluded to the
understanding when he used to sit on the opposition benches and
Bhattal used to feel the heat of her own government as Amarinder
Singh camp went hammer and tongs after her.
26
September, 2007
|
Read Also