NEW DELHI: After Uttarakhand, trouble is brewing in yet another poll-bound state for the Congress with the party's Punjab chief Navjot Singh Sidhu pushing for his name to be announced as CM candidate even as campaign committee chief Sunil Jakhar said polls would be contested under joint leadership.
The trouble in Punjab comes after the party faced a similar situation in Uttarakhand, where state in-charge Devender Yadav turned down Harish Rawat's demand to be made the CM candidate, causing a rift in the state unit.
The party said the Punjab elections would be contested under the leadership of Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi, and that the move is aimed at balancing caste equations in the state and preventing infighting within the party.
The party is banking on leaders from prominent castes. While Channi comes from the Dalit community, Sidhu is a Jat Sikh, Jakhar is a Jat, and of the two deputy CMs, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa is a Jat Sikh and OP Soni is a Hindu.
Insisting that the party should announce its CM face, Sidhu has been taking swipes at the Channi government on several issues. The Congress faced a massive crisis earlier this year following rebellion by state leaders, leading to the exit of Captain Amarinder Singh from the party. Singh, who has floated his own party, is contesting in alliance with the BJP.