With Captain Amarinder Singh stepping down as the chief minister of Punjab, Congress MLAs passed a resolution allowing Sonia Gandhi to name his successor. Here are top developments in Punjab politics summed up in 10 points.
This development comes months before the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections.
A statement from the Raj Bhawan confirmed that Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit has accepted Amarinder Singh's resignation and that of his council of ministers. Captain Amarinder Singh (79) and his ministers have been asked to continue in office for the transaction of routine business till the appointment of his successor.
Top Developments in Punjab | 10 points
1. Captain Amarinder Singh tendered his resignation less than an hour before the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) meeting was due to begin at the party headquarters in Chandigarh on Saturday. Captain Amarinder Singh has now become the only chief minister in Punjab in the last 24 years to have stepped down before the completion of a full five-year term.
2. Speaking to reporters after resigning as chief minister, Amarinder Singh said he felt "humiliated" at the manner in which he was treated by the Congress high command. He later told India Today that he was never informed about the CLP meeting.
4. The CLP meeting in Chandigarh was attended by 78 Congress MLAs from Punjab, with only Amarinder Singh and one other legislator missing.
5. Congress legislators passed two resolutions during the meeting. The first resolution was to acknowledge 'good governance' under Captain Amarinder Singh, while the second resolution empowered Congress president Sonia Gandhi to name his successor as per "tradition", said Harish Rawat, Congress general secretary in-charge of Punjab.
6. Sources in the Congress party say former PPCC chief Sunil Jakhar, who was replaced by Navjot Singh Sidhu earlier this year, is the frontrunner for the top post. If appointed the next chief minister of Punjab, Sunil Jakhar will be assisted by two deputy chief ministers. Other front-runners include former PCC chief Pratap Bajwa, Congress Rajya Sabha MP Ambika Soni and three ministers in the Amarinder Singh cabinet - Sukhjinder Randhawa, Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria and Tript Rajinder Bajwa.
7. In an exclusive interview with India Today, Captain Amarinder Singh called Navjot Singh Sidhu "incompetent" and "anti-national". Asked if he would endorse Sidhu as his successor, Amarinder Singh said he would oppose such a proposition "tooth and nail".
8. Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal said in a tweet that Amarinder Singh's resignation is a "self-admission" by Congress that the party failed Punjab and has nothing to show for nearly five years of governance. He added that a "mere change of guard" won't save the Congress party's "sinking ship in Punjab".
9. Reacting to Amarinder Singh's resignation, BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh said, "Replacing the Congress chief minister is a panic reaction of the Congress high command to salvage the party situation after it failed to deliver in the last more than four and a half years."
10. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also took a dig at the Congress, with party MLA Raghav Chadha saying in a video message on Twitter, "Governance in the state of Punjab has been the biggest casualty in Congress's Game of Thrones".
(with inputs from PTI)
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