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The Times of India
The Times of India
National
Subodh Ghildiyal | TNN

Wary of AAP’s anti-graft campaign, Congress looks for Punjab party chief ‘without baggage’

NEW DELHI: As Congress seeks to renew its Punjab leadership, senior members have cautioned the party brass that it should be careful about the choice of state president, with focus on a “fresh individual without baggage” who is not vulnerable to the ruling AAP’s anti-corruption campaign.

It is learnt that party MPs recently conveyed to the Congress management that former ministers of the Amarinder Singh government should be kept out of the top organisational responsibility. Their prime concern is that AAP will look to target the new state unit leaders to build upon its campaign against the established parties, a strategy that helped it win an overwhelming support of the state electorate. The AICC was conveyed “inputs” that AAP government headed by Bhagwant Mann is preparing files on former ministers. “AAP will be looking for an excuse to discredit the new Congress chief. We should take extra care to ensure that the ruling party does not find a readymade target that will hurt the Congress attempt at reset,” a senior MP said.

The way Amarinder’s replacement as CM Charanjeet Channi was targeted by AAP is fresh in the memory of Congressmen. Following its decimation in Punjab, Congress has entrusted AICC general secretary Ajay Maken the task of preparing a report for restructuring of the state unit.

An intense lobbying has already broken out among state leaders, with Navjot Sidhu, who was asked to quit as PCC president after the defeat, back canvassing support, even as others like Ludhiana MP Ravneet Bittu and some former ministers seen as strong contenders.

But as the party thinks long and hard about its new stewards of Punjab Congress, there is palpable frustration in the party ranks at the delay in making the new appointments. “We have still not named our state chief and the leader of the legislature party, who will be the leader of opposition in state assembly. We have not learnt any lessons,” an angry leader said, a sentiment echoed by many others too.

The sense of urgency over the restructuring stems from the shocking rout at the hands of AAP in recent assembly polls in which Congress touched its lowest tally with concerns if a revival was possible. The immediate worry is about the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and it is felt that a focused rebuilding effort will be required if Congress is to harbour any hope to challenge the AAP which is likely to have an extended honeymoon with the voters. Besides state chief, the party has attended two short assembly “sessions” without an LOP.

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