Charanji Singh Channi (left) and Navjot Singh Sidhu on stage earlier this week.
Who will be the Congress's Chief Ministerial candidate for next month's Punjab elections - incumbent Charanjit Singh Channi or state unit boss Navjot Sidhu - the million-dollar question for the party may be answered this week with chief Sonia Gandhi leading talks, sources have told NDTV.
The Congress has been caught in an epic dilemma with the raging rivalry threatening the Congress campaign to the extent that senior leader Rahul Gandhi declared this week that the party would indeed name a contender, stressing, "Two people can't lead, only one can."
"We will fulfil your demand for a Chief Minister candidate as soon as possible. Normally, we do not declare a Chief Minister face but if Congress workers want, we will select a face as well. But we will consult Congress workers. They will decide," Rahul Gandhi said in Jalandhar on Thursday.
The party, which rules Punjab, had earlier said the decision would be taken only after the February 20 election.
Mr Gandhi made the comments with both Punjab Congress chief Navjot Sidhu and Chief Minister Charanjit Channi on stage; their swipes at each other have been getting louder and more embarrassing for the party by the day.
Before the Congress leader spoke, the feuding leaders declared they would not hanker for the post or defy the party.
Navjot Sidhu "assured" Rahul Gandhi that he would accept his decision, no matter what, and Chief Minister Channi delivered a dramatic folded-hands appeal to not allow "outsiders like Arvind Kejriwal say the Congress has infighting".
Mr Channi took over as Punjab Chief Minister in September after the Congress sacked Amarinder Singh, Mr Sidhu's arch-rival.
But Mr Sidhu's ties with the new Chief Minister have been far from smooth as neither is willing to pass up on the top job.
Punjab votes next month with four other states and the results will be declared on March 10.
