Not AAP, Awaaz-e-Punjab likely to go with Congress

Rajmeet Singh &

Vishav Bharti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 28

The Awaaz-e-Punjab is in touch the Congress high command in Delhi to have an electoral alliance for the upcoming state Assembly elections. The development was confirmed by forum leader and Independent MLA from Ludhiana Simarjit Singh Bains. 

Talking to the Tribune here today, Bains said the forum had entrusted Navjot Singh Sidhu to have negotiations with the Congress. He said the issue of seat sharing was being discussed and an announcement regarding this would be made by the weekend. Though Bains did not reveal it, there are clear indications that Sidhu is directly talking to Rahul Gandhi’s emissaries to clinch the deal. Rahul would back in Delhi tonight from Uttar Pradesh.

Bains refused to divulge the details that for how many seats the Awaaz-e-Punjab would settle. But there are reports that months ago when the Bains brothers were in talks with AAP, they had sought 12 seats in Ludhiana region for their Insaaf group. 

Interestingly, the Awaaz-e-Punjab on the one side has confirmed that their talks with the Congress are at an advanced stage, on the other they maintained that they won’t have alliance with “Amarinder-led Congress”. 

In a statement, the Awaaz-e-Punjab said “Amarinder is hand-in-glove with the Badals and his dubious deals with the Badals are an open secret. There is no question of betraying the people of Punjab.” It is to be seen whether the Congress high command will concede to the Awaaz-e-Punjab’s demand regarding Amarinder.

Senior Congress leadership in the state has preferred to adopt a wait-and-watch policy because of changing stand of the fourth front leaders. Senior leaders, including Shamsher Singh Dullo and Partap Singh Bajwa feel that it would be “suicidal for Congress to accept the Awaaz-e-Punjab’s demand with regard to Capt Amarinder Singh at this stage, when the entire campaign has been build around him”.

While Amarinder remained elusive, sources close to him said he would prefer to see what stand was taken by the party high command. Congress leaders say not only it would be difficult for Amarinder to work with Sidhu, but even other senior leaders in the party such as Manpreet Badal, Sunil, Jakhar, Ravneet Bittu and Amarinder Singh Raja Warring would not like to be marginalised by Sidhu’s entry.