Partap Singh Bajwa, who was reportedly the contender for the post of chief minister during the last year’s Punjab Congress crisis, which also led to the ouster of Amarinder Singh, in an exclusive interview to News18 said only a sitting MLA would become the chief minister, stressing that nothing can “said to be certain” politics.
During his campaign in Qadian on Thursday, Rajya Sabha MP Bajwa, without naming former Punjab Congress Chief Sunil Jakhar, said, “Whatever people may say but it’s a fact that the party had decided that only a sitting MLA will be the CM.”
Asked whether there could be changes even after Charanjit Singh Channi has been declared as the Congress’s CM face, Bajwa said: “In politics, things do change. They have been changes earlier and they will continue to do so. Nothing can be said to be certain. There could be changes even after the election or maybe after a few months. Anything is possible.” Bajwa, however, said since the party had announced Channi as the CM face, all facts should now work united towards the victory.
“The Congress must have seriously gone through the feedback and wanted to take a certain section of public into confidence. But by announcing a Dalit CM face, the party may have thought it gives them an advantage. So, we need to respect that,” said Bajwa.
He further said the leaders should avoid targeting their own government and PCC chief Navjot Singh Sidhu for his statement post Channi’s announcement, and welcome the party’s decision. “The opposition leadership faces a credibility crisis, and it’s time now when we should avoid targeting our own government. It will send a wrong signal when polls are approaching,” he said.
Bajwa denied that a multi-party contest did not augur well for the fortune of the Congress. “We have a dedicated and secured 35 to 36% voter base. The multi-cornered contest will only impact other parties such as the Aam Aadmi Party and Shiromani Akali Dal, which have little over 20% vote base,” he asserted. Bajwa said other parties would cut into each other’s votes and not have much impact on the Congress vote share.
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