Harbhajan or Soni from Amritsar? Congress debates

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 21

With cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu indicating he won’t be interested in contesting the Amritsar Lok Sabha segment, the Congress is keeping its options open for the seat which its Punjab unit chief Capt Amarinder Singh resigned from recently while protesting the Supreme Court’s Sutlej-Yamuna Canal link verdict.

The Tribune has learnt that former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh is in touch with the Congress to explore the possibility of joining the party. Harbhajan, who is out of the national cricket team, had met Amarinder about six months ago to discuss the possibilities of joining politics. After that, the trail got cold.

It revived with Amarinder today saying Harbhajan was welcome to join the Congress. “We will be happy to have him,” Amarinder said.

To a question about whether Harbhajan could be the Congress candidate for Amritsar segment, Amarinder said it was for the party to decide.

Another candidate for the parliamentary elections from the seat is OP Soni, who had almost defeated Sidhu here in the 2009 LS poll.

Sources said Amarinder is backing Soni even though Soni’s name was announced as a party candidate from Amritsar Central he currently represents in the Assembly.