The absence of several BJP leaders, including Amarinder Singh, Raghav Chadha and Harbhajan Singh, from a recent event where the party's new Punjab unit chief formally took charge sparked speculation about the reasons behind their absence. The discussion around Amarinder Singh's reported displeasure intensified after he said he had not been consulted on the appointment of Kewal Singh Dhillon as Punjab BJP president.
Chadha, Harbhajan Singh and four other Rajya Sabha members from Punjab had recently left the AAP and joined the BJP. However, BJP senior spokesperson Pritpal Singh Baliawal on Friday dismissed reports suggesting that Amarinder Singh might leave the BJP and return to the Congress.
"These are merely rumours. He remains with the BJP and is not going anywhere," Baliawal said. The 84-year-old former CM has openly expressed reservations about the appointment of 76-year-old Dhillon as Punjab BJP chief ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections. Amarinder said he was not convinced that Dhillon could deliver what the party expected from him. Like Amarinder, Dhillon also spent many years in the Congress before joining the BJP in 2022.
Despite Amarinder's absence from Wednesday's event, his wife Preneet Kaur and daughter Jai Inder Kaur, both BJP leaders, attended the programme. Both Preneet Kaur and Jai Inder Kaur publicly extended their support to Dhillon after he took charge.
Similarly, four of the six Rajya Sabha MPs from Punjab who recently joined the BJP -- Raghav Chadha, Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta and Sandeep Pathak -- were not present at the event. The remaining two MPs, Ashok Mittal and Vikramjit Sahney, who had also joined the BJP, attended the function.
Amarinder Singh has repeatedly stated that while Dhillon is a personal friend, political leadership should be assessed on performance and capability. "In the past we have shared a friendship, but friendship is one thing and political competence is another," he had remarked.
Questioning the decision, Amarinder said he was unsure whether Dhillon could achieve the objectives the BJP had set for Punjab. He pointed out that he had closely observed Dhillon's political work during his tenure as Punjab Congress chief and chief minister and felt the party should have considered the decision more carefully.
Amarinder also claimed that the Congress high command's decision-making process was different from what he has experienced in the BJP. At the same time, Congress leader and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was asked whether Amarinder Singh could return to the Congress. Hooda responded that only Amarinder could answer that question.
Amarinder has also expressed disappointment over not being consulted on the appointment of the Punjab BJP chief, especially with Assembly elections approaching.
Punjab is scheduled to go to the polls early next year, and the BJP has already announced that it intends to contest the elections on its own.
"I was not consulted. I have spent nearly 60 years in Punjab politics. Ultimately the decision is for the party to make, but the views of those who have devoted their lives to politics should at least have been sought," Amarinder had said. He also compared the working style of the BJP with that of the Congress, where he earlier served as state president and chief minister.
"It is not how I functioned in the Congress. I was president of the Punjab Congress three times and was always consulted. Nobody dictated terms to me. I did what I felt was best for Punjab," he said.
Amarinder maintained that former Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar and party working president Ashwani Sharma would have been stronger choices to lead the state unit.
"Why remove Jakhar? Jakhar and Ashwani Sharma are experienced leaders. The party should appoint someone who can deliver results," he had said. He also rejected the argument that the BJP needed a Jat Sikh face to head the Punjab unit.
"I do not subscribe to this idea of choosing leaders based on religion or community. Whether someone is Hindu, Sikh, Muslim or Christian is irrelevant. The important thing is whether that person can deliver," he said.
During a recent interaction with the media, Amarinder revealed that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi still wishes him on his birthday. "I have known him since he was a child, so those personal bonds remain," he said.
Amarinder also disclosed that Rahul Gandhi had sent him a condolence message after the death of his cousin Randhir Singh, a veteran sports administrator and India's first Asian Games shooting gold medallist.
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