Congress High Command has its way in Punjab

At last, after a lot of suspense, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has quit, making way for a successor of the Congress High Command’s choice.The writing was on the wall ever since Navjot Singh Sidhu was brought in as state Congress president despite opposition from the Captain. The signals became more clear as Sidhu mounted public attacks on the performance of the state government run by his own party. His relentless campaign against the Captain government could not have continued for such a long time without the tacit approval of the powers that be in the Congress central leadership.

On the surface, attempts were made to reduce the bad blood between Captain Amarinder Singh and Sidhu, but they had virtually no impact. Sidhu’s tirade against the Captain continued day in and day out. There is no doubt that matters could have been handled in a more gracious manner. Captain could have been told politely to make way for a younger leader to take his place. Maybe this did not happen as it may have been difficult to make Captain Amarinder Singh see the writing on the wall.

Meanwhile, graceful or atrocious, the Trimurti of the Gandhi family has had its way, making Captain Amarinder Singh to bite the dust.Whether he takes it lying down remains to be seen. But he has very few options. On the wrong side of 80 years, he may find it difficult to fight new battles.But nothing can be ruled out in politics.