After his acrimonious exit from the CM post of Punjab, Captain Amarinder Singh has been keeping his future political step a well-guarded secret, leaving speculations the only option. After Singh dispelled rumours of joining the BJP, the media has now been speculating that with only months left for the Punjab assembly elections, Singh will float his new party in the next 15 days.
News18 quoted sources as saying that a dozen Congress leaders and MLAs are also likely to join him. According to sources, not only legislators are on board, but also certain prominent figures who are disgruntled with the Akalis. Captain Amarinder Singh is also likely to meet some farmer leaders in Punjab.
According to India Today, Amarinder Singh’s new party would primarily focus on security issues for which he had likely met National Security Advisor Ajit Doval at his residence in New Delhi on September 30.
Amrinder Singh’s meeting with Ajit Doval is significant given the fact that just a few days ago, he had termed Navjot Singh Sidhu a national security threat. After resigning from the post of CM, Singh had said that he will fight any move to make Sidhu the Punjab CM, terming him as anti-national, dangerous, unstable, incompetent and a security threat to the state and the country.
Captain Amarinder Singh changes his Twitter bio after announcing to quit Congress
Amarinder Singh on Thursday, September 30 also changed his Twitter bio hours after he announced his decision that he will quit Congress. His present Twitter bio says Amarinder Singh is an Army veteran, the former chief minister of Punjab who is continuing to serve the state.
Notably, a day earlier, ex-CM Amarinder Singh had met Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi. However, Singh had denied that meeting BJP leaders were on his agenda during the Delhi visit. His meeting with HM Shah led to the rise in speculations that Amarinder Singh is going to join the BJP ahead of assembly polls next year.
Captain resigns as Punjab CM
Amarinder Singh had resigned from the post of chief minister on September 18 saying that he can’t continue with the humiliation he was facing in the party. He had taken the decision after the party had called for a meeting of the Congress legislative party in Punjab without informing the CM, who is also the leader of the legislative party.
The political drama in Punjab started with the appointment of Navjot Singh Sidhu as the president of the Punjab Congress in July despite opposition from Amarinder Singh. Interestingly, unhappy with the selection of ministers in the new Charanjit Singh Channi government, Sidhu had resigned from the post of Pradesh Congress chief on September 28, which the party high command has not accepted yet.