How Punjab is an indicator of issues plaguing Congress

Infighting, exodus of leaders and leadership ‘crisis’ are major concerns for Congress

ITDC INDIA EPRESS/ITDC NEWS R In August 2020, when the letter sent by the Group of 23 leaders to Congress president Sonia Gandhi had gone public and created a furore, Amarinder Singh, who was then chief minister of Punjab, was among the leaders who strongly backed the Gandhis.

Over a year later, forced to step down as chief minister, Amarinder Singh has found sympathy among the G23 leaders. His criticism of the manner in which the party is functioning and decisions are being taken, mirrors the issues that the letter-writers have been raising. And the leadership change in Punjab and the ensuing political furore have provided the in-house critics with an occasion to reassert themselves and demand that the central leadership takes note of the issues raised by them.

Punjab provided evidence of the central leadership's new-found penchant for experiment and boldness, as seen in the appointment of cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu as PCC chief and replacement of Amarinder with Charanjit Singh Channi as chief minister.

And yet, it is Punjab that has become the centrepiece of the issues that plague the party and the hectic developments in Chandigarh have only amplified the other problems in the party – from infighting in various states to leaders leaving in droves, to the long-running questions about the leadership.