Is it the end of the road for the Sidhu couple?

The Sidhu couple finds itself trapped in a crisis of its own making. Navjot Kaur Sidhu’s allegation of “Rs 500 crore for CM” has not only boomeranged on her but pushed her husband’s political prospects into a corner.

Kaur has since been suspended by the Punjab Congress. Her subsequent outbursts against party colleagues have opened her up to defamation proceedings, with Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa leading the charge.

The knives are out for the controversial couple. Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar has gone so far as to say, “She should get admitted to a mental asylum.”

The big question now is can Navjot Sidhu wriggle out of this mess?

Related news: ‘Will not support thieves’: Navjot Kaur Sidhu claims ‘70 per cent Congress with her’, in talks with high command

Indisputably, he is a fighter.

In the fall of 1992, when he landed in Sydney as a reinforcement for a struggling Indian Test team, the same day US President George Bush arrived on an official visit. The Sydney Morning Herald, a respected daily, ran the front-page headline: “Spotlight on Sidhu, Bush.” Such was Sidhu’s aura — built largely on sheer grit.

Not many know that Sonia Gandhi had approached him in 1998 to contest the General Election from a Delhi seat. He declined, saying he “still had a lot of cricket left” in him. A year later, cricket’s famous uncertainties caught up. He retired after he was dropped from the national squad. He then approached Sonia to contest from Patiala but she refused.

In 2004, a senior BJP leader called him while he was in Pakistan for commentary. Sidhu surprised many by agreeing to contest from Amritsar, given his perceived Congress leanings and the fact that his father, Bhagwant Singh Sidhu, was a dyed-in-the-wool Congressman Congressman.

A four-time MP and an MLA, Sidhu has often faced uncomfortable questions about his record in Amritsar. His report card, critics say, shows little.

“Name one developmental work he initiated in Amritsar,” a senior Congress leader scoffed. Strangely, Sidhu also changed his phone number every time he won an election. “It was because he didn’t want to stay in touch with the very people who elected him,” said the leader. In the run-up to the 2022 Assembly polls, Sidhu had even apologised publicly for this habit.

As the Cabinet Minister for Local Bodies and Tourism, he sat on crucial files. The CM questioned his administrative capability and shifted him to Power Department, which he never joined.

In 2018, when a train mowed down 50 persons near Jaura level crossing in his constituency, Sidhu promised to adopt the children of the deceased. That, too, turned out to be a broken promise.

After resigning from the Rajya Sabha in July 2016, Sidhu approached Arvind Kejriwal, insisting he would join AAP only if projected as CM candidate. Kejriwal declined, offering his wife an Assembly seat instead.

The real reason behind his resignation, party insiders say, was the upcoming 2017 Punjab polls — Sidhu had become consumed by the idea of becoming CM. He began attacking his parent party, the BJP, and joined the Congress, conveniently forgetting that the BJP had sent him to Parliament four times.

“He brought the Congress down from 80 seats to a mere 18 in the 2022 polls. His denial of tickets to rivals and distribution of seats to loyalists has not gone unnoticed by the Gandhis. His ‘dictatorial’ functioning as state party chief also annoyed them,” said an AICC senior leader.

His “antics” when Charanjit Channi was appointed CM further angered the high command. He wanted his loyalists to be appointed as DGP and Advocate General. Such appointments are within the CM’s domain. His role as PPCC chief was to strengthen the party’s organisational structure.

When he couldn’t get his way, he sent his resignation as PPCC chief to the Gandhi clan through a social media post. Priyanka Gandhi was livid at Sidhu’s audacity. Her blue-eyed boy had made her see red!

Interestingly, during his installation ceremony as PPCC chief, he left the venue midway. Those present wondered where the host had run away. Turned out his astrologer had advised him to leave immediately after the CM made an entry. Frantic phone calls were exchanged between senior leaders and Priyanka, informing her of Sidhu's “childish pranks”. The host rushed back only after she reprimanded him.

Posting pictures with Priyanka is one thing; Having a foothold on Punjab politics is another..

If leaders close to the Gandhis are to be believed, it’s all over for the Sidhus — bar the shouting.