CHANDIGARH: All the speculations about Navjot Singh Sidhu’s continuations as the Punjab congress
chief have been laid to the rest with the appointment of 44-year old Amarinder Singh Raja Warring as the new president of Punjab Congress as Sidhu tendered his resignation from the post after the party's debacle in the recent state assembly elections as desired by the All-India Congress Committee (AICC) president Sonia Gandhi.
Also, former Punjab Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa has been named the leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) in the state assembly thus he will be the leader of the opposition in the assembly.
Sources said that Warring MLA from Gidderbaha assembly constituency has been appointed as the stare congress chief as he is considered close to former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and he was the only congress sitting MLA who could win in Malwa region of the state in the recent assembly polls. He is the
youngest ever Punjab state congress president.
Also, former Punjab Congress president 65-year old Partap Singh Bajwa has been named the leader of the Congress Legislature Party in the state assembly thus he will be the leader of the opposition in the assembly. He is MLA from Qadian assembly seat in Majha region of the state and now a fifth time legislator.
Bajwa had resigned from Rajya Sabha prior to his retirement date. In 2016, Bajwa was elected to Rajya Sabha where he served as chairman of the committee on Subordinate Legislation from 2020 to 2022. As congress has 18 MLAs in the state assembly so it is the principal opposition party.
While former food and civil supplies minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu has been appointed Punjab Congress working president and 53-year old Raj Kumar Chabbewal MLA from Chabbewal is the deputy CLP leader. He is a third-time lawmaker. All these appointments were approved and cleared by Congress President Sonia Gandhi today late evening. Also, these appointments have the approval of former
congress president Rahul Gandhi.
Warring had earlier also remained as the president of the Indian Youth Congress. During his term as Transport Minister in Punjab in the government of Charanjit Singh Channi he had cracked a whip on the buses operated by the Badal family. While former Member of Parliament of Rajya Sabha Bajwa was also earlier Gandhi's pick for the upper house is the new CLP leader. While Chabbewal a Scheduled Caste leader of the party and senior leader from Doaba region is the Deputy CLP leader. The grand old party has tried to strike a balance between communities representing all major groups of the state.
In the last few days Navjot Singh Sidhu had been holding informal meetings with Congress leaders both sitting and former MLAs besides other party leaders in order to garner support for himself to be re-named as the state Congress chief, as hectic lobbying was going on. Also former Deputy Chief Minister-cum-Home Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, former cabinet minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Member of Parliament from Ludhiana Ravneet Singh Bittu were in the race for these party posts.