Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu, on Tuesday, 13 July, posted a seemingly cryptic tweet saying, "Our opposition AAP has always recognised my vision and work for Punjab.”
He also shared a video of AAP leader Sanjay Singh lauding him for 'taking the bold step' of quitting the BJP in 2017 and for raising his voice against the Akali Dal.
Further, Sidhu added,
"If the Opposition dares to question me, yet they can’t escape my Pro-People Agenda... This means they have resigned to their fate !! (sic)"
The tweet comes amid reports of feud within the Congress in Punjab, which is scheduled to go to polls early next year.
MORE DETAILS
Sidhu’s response came on a tweet by AAP Punjab, asking him to post about the aspersions cast by the opposition party regarding the Congress profiting from CM Amarinder Singh’s failure to revoke the Power Purchase Agreements.
Sidhu, later in the day, also tweeted:
“Our Opposition singing about me and other loyal Congressmen :- It doesn’t matter if you join hands with AAP…it is a problem if you stay with Congress.”
It is unclear, however, whether Sidhu’s tweets are an indication of any kindling loyalty towards AAP, in the backdrop of a protracted tiff with CM Amarinder, or are mere jibes at the opposition and a straightforward reflection of loyalty towards Congress.
MEANWHILE
Poll strategist Prashant Kishor met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at his residence in Delhi on Tuesday, news agency ANI reported.
According to reports, party leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, KC Venugopal, and Harish Rawat were also at Gandhi's residence when the meeting took place.
Kishor is serving as advisor to Captain Amarinder Singh, the state's chief minister.
BACKGROUND
After Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal on 29 June promised up to 300 units of free electricity in Punjab, Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu urged his party to adopt a similar model.
The issue has sparked a political and an economic debate in the state with Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh saying that the AAP model has failed in Delhi, and voters in Punjab won't be 'fooled by Kejriwal's false promises'. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has also called it a move to 'exploit voters' as the state is already staring at a power crisis.
Fighting an anti-incumbency wave in Punjab and the recent targeted attacks by Navjot Singh Sidhu on the ongoing power crisis and Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), Singh may be looking for repeat of 2017 in the upcoming 2022 elections.
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