CHANDIGARH: Former Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar said he was quitting from active electoral politics but continue to serve the party ‘‘I am not part of electoral politics anymore but would continue to serve the Congress,’’ Jakhar told this newspaper while negating reports that he was quitting the party. The Congress leader claimed that he wasn’t actively campaigning because he wasn’t contesting.
Earlier in the day, Kanwar Sandhu, the legislator from the Kharar assembly constituency, had tweeted claiming that Jakhar, Sidhu’s predecessor in the post, has retired from politics. What added to the speculation of his exit was a recent viral video in which Jakhar was heard claiming that after Amarinder Singh’s exit from the post of chief minister, he was the first choice of MLAs and Channi the last. The video had caused a flutter in the Punjab political circles as the Congress state unit was till recently caught in factional war between heavyweights Channi and Navjot Singh Sidhu.
Jakhar, the chairman of the campaign committee of the party, had earlier been supporting Charanjit Singh Channi’s candidature for CM’s post. He had reiterated that one cannot change the horse at this time.
At the party rally in Ludhiana, Jakhar who was apparently miffed with the Congress high command, heaped praises on Rahul Gandhi. Making Channi the chief minister of Punjab following Amarinder Singh’s exit was the greatest political decision that Rahul has ever taken, he claimed.
Sources said that Jakhar was the frontrunner for the post of chief minister when Amarinder Singh resigned and that he was even sounded about the possibility of being installed in the chair. But Channi trumped the CM race at the last minute, they said, adding that the ex-PCC chief was upset with the party ever since.
In the video that had gone viral, Jakhar while campaigning for his nephew Sandeep in Abohar is seen telling a group of people that when Amarinder Singh resigned as CM and the Congress high command asked all the 79 MLAs who was their first choice as Chief Minister, they replied he was the choice of the majority.
‘‘After Amarinder resigned, the party high command told all the 79 MLAs to inform it whom they want as the CM. Forty-two of the MLAs took my name, 16 to Sukhjinder Randhawa, 12 to Preneet Kaur, 6 to Punjab Congress Chief Navjot Singh Sidhu and 2 to Charanjit Singh Channi,’’ he is heard saying.