The Congress high command is understood to be seriously considering plan-B in Punjab after the continued defiance by some senior party leaders. Situation doesn’t seem to be coming under control despite the olive branch extended by both Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and general secretary in charge Bhupesh Baghel to the rebel leaders. Both Baghel and Warring even raised pro-Channi slogans during an event of the ongoing ‘Harr booth, Congress Mazboot’ programmes recently.
While extending an olive branch to the rebels, Baghel also cautioned the party’s rank and file against “sleeper cells” of other parties working within to defeat the party.
Warring, in fact, countered the media for trying to sensationalise such slogans, asking, “does Channi zindabad mean Pakistan zindabad?”. In Bathinda on Monday, he even tried to explain how important the position of the chairman of the campaign committee is, quoting the examples of Himachal Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu and former Karnataka chief minister Sidarammaiah, both of whom were campaign committee chairmen before becoming the chief ministers.
Despite such unequivocal owning up of former Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi Channi, leader of the dissidents, there appears to be no thaw. At certain places, some Congress workers even erected banners saying, “Baghel go back”, while at some places there were banners showing Channi in khaki shorts, suggesting that he was hobnobbing with the BJP/ RSS.
While the Punjab Congress Committee is holding the ‘Harr booth, Congress Mazboot’ programmes, the dissidents are planning their own moves. On Saturday, they held a meeting at the residence of former minister and senior leader Rana Gurjeet Singh. The meeting was apparently held to plan the strategy as how to challenge the “hijacking” of the local bodies election mandate in Kapurthala, but the real import of the meeting and the message it sent was not lost on anyone. All the dissident leaders were present at the meeting.
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The Congress high command is believed to be exploring the options of expulsion of some prominent leaders to enforce discipline. The message has not gone across well about the authority of the high command that stands challenged. The party leadership is believed to be weighing its options in case Channi resigns from the party and joins the BJP.
There is serious brain storming going on within the party about this possibility. While one section of the leadership in the high command favours letting Channi and some other leaders resign on their own, another section wants a firm action with expulsions to send a clear and categorical message that there is zero tolerance for indiscipline and no matter how strong and powerful a leader may be, he will have to follow the party discipline and no one is indispensable.
In fact, Rahul Gandhi said it in Barnala rally a few months back that if someone believes he is above the party, the party can make him sit at home. The remark was made after some supporters of Channi raised slogans in his favour during while Rahul was addressing the rally.
While the party understands Channi’s limitations that how difficult it will be for him to survive outside the Congress, his expulsion may lead to bad optics vis-à-vis the Dalit votes in Punjab, which the high command seems to be weighing seriously. Channi is not a very popular leader like Capt Amarinder Singh. Even he could not survive without the Congress. Channi also does not hold sweeping influence among the entire 34 per cent Dalit population of the state.
The Congress otherwise believes that it is on a sound footing to win the ensuing elections or at least emerge as a single largest party. The Congress right now is the principal opposition party and the main challenger to the ruling AAP. Although there is strong dilemma on how to deal with the rebels, particularly Channi in view of his Dalit background, a strict and firm decision cannot be ruled out.
Baghel said it in Bathinda on Monday and Fazilka on Tuesday, quoting Rahul Gandhi and asking the party cadres to beware of the “sleeper cells” of other parties within the Congress who are there only to damage the party. The hint was obvious.
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