Chandigarh: Even as the jury is out on who takes the bigger blame for the Congress debacle - outgoing chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu or an indecisive high command - the party could be headed for a massive shake-up after being reduced to mere 18 seats from its tally of 77 in 2017.
Party insiders fear that knives may be out soon after the dust settles on the election results. Amid the blame game, Sidhu could well be at the receiving end and his own loss in Amritsar (East) could put him on a weak wicket. At the same time, Channi - the Dalit face of the party brought in as a replacement for Amarinder Singh - failed to lead a successful campaign as he suffered defeat on both seats contested by him: Chamkaur Sahib and Bhadaur.
Now, with most of its bigwigs having lost, the party would have a tough time in even choosing its Leader of Opposition (LoP). The cancellation of the Congress Legislature Party meeting called by Sidhu is indicative of the disillusionment in the party. Leaders in the party have already begun to question the ticket allotment criterion. Under the shadow of a possible poaching by BJP’s alliance with Amarinder’s party, the Congress had also decided to re-nominate a majority of its sitting MLAs, including those who were dropped from the Cabinet when Channi took over.
Party insiders also point to a demoralised party cadre as a factor for the crushing defeat. Also, there was a period when Sidhu was appointed the PPCC chief while Amarinder was still at the helm, which led to confusion in the cadres. The state unit continued to be pulled apart in different directions when Sidhu questioned Channi’s decisions.
