New Delhi
Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi and his sister AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday interacted with poll strategist Prashant Kishor on how to end the crisis in Punjab due to ambitious cricketer-turned former minister Navjot Singh Sidhu taking pot shots at Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh. It was Kishor who had brought Sidhu in the Congress in 2017, after he quit the BJP as its Rajya Sabha member.
Kishor also broached the issue of urgency to build up a credible united front to take on Prime Minister Modi in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as also in the Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh in the meeting held at the Tughlaq Lane residence of Rahul, with Punjab in-charge general secretary Harish Rawat and organisational general secretary KC Venugopal.
Priyanka cancelled her press conference in Lucknow as part of the national campaign against the inflation, specially to meet Kishor, who had also met Chief Minister Amarinder Singh at his Kapurthala House residence here. Kishor was recently appointed the principal adviser to the Chief Minister.
But not long after the Congress won Punjab, powered by Kishor's strategy, Amarinder Singh and Sidhu fell out two years later when the latter quit quit the Punjab Cabinet.
Only on Monday, Harish Rawat had stated that the elections would be fought under the leadership of Capt Amarinder Singh while there will be changes in the Cabinet and the new Punjab Congress President will be appointed in another two, three days. Present state party chief is Sunil Kumar Jakhar while indications are that a Dalit or a Hindu may replace him to balance the caste equations necessary for the Assembly elections early next year.