'Ta Ta Thaiya': Navjot Singh Sidhu cuts loose with cheeky jingle in run-up to likely naming of Charanjit Channi as Congress CM hopeful

Days before the Congress declares its chief ministerial candidate for Punjab, Navjot Singh Sidhu, has sent a biting message to his bosses. He commented on Thursday that "people at the top" want a weak chief minister who can dance to their tunes.

According to a NDTV report, Sidhu said: "If a new Punjab has to be made, it is in the hands of the Chief Minister. You have to choose the Chief Minister this time. People at the top want a weak Chief Minister who can dance to their tunes - ta ta thaiya. Do you want such a Chief Minister?"

Sidhu's comments come amid a survey being conducted by the Congress to elect the party's CM face. Sidhu and Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi are the two candidates named as the party's options in the Interactive Voice Response Survey.

As per PTI, Rahul Gandhi is likely to make the big declaration during his visit to the poll-bound state on Sunday. During his recent visit to Punjab on 27 January, Rahul had said that both the chief ministerial contenders had assured him that whosoever is chosen as the chief ministerial candidate, the other will support him.

Sidhu has long coveted the CM post and almost made it when the party sacked his rival Captain Amarinder Singh in September. But Singh's replacement, Charanjit Singh Channi, has repeatedly made it clear that he is no placeholder.

The Congress has assigned Channi two constituencies for the 20 February Punjab election, indicating that he might be the party's choice for Chief Minister and has been given a backup in case he loses in one seat.

Last week, during Rahul's visit to Punjab, both Channi and Sidhu had displayed unity on stage but had delivered less than subtle messages that the party should pick a side and name its Punjab face.

Stakes high for Sidhu in Amritsar East constituency

The Assembly contest in the Amritsar East constituency is being seen as the mother of all electoral battles in Punjab with heavyweights - state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu and SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia - in the fray for the 20 February state election.

After the Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal fielded his brother-in-law and former minister Majithia against the former-cricketer, the constituency is being keenly watched.

The BJP has fielded former IAS officer Jagmohan Singh Raju, who served for 35 years in Tamil Nadu, while the Aam Aadmi Party nominated Jeevanjot Kaur.

The contest took a keen turn when Majithia said he will not fight from the Majitha Assembly seat, and will only contest from Amritsar East to take on Sidhu.

The stakes will be high for both Sidhu and Majithia, who are pitted against each other for the first time in any electoral battle, and the war of words has already intensified between the two leaders.

They have come only to play spoilsport, but in this 'Dharam Yudh', they will not succeed because where there is 'Dharma' there is victory", Sidhu recently said as he attacked the Akalis.

In the 2017 Assembly polls too, the election to this Assembly seat was keenly watched after Sidhu jumped into the fray as a Congress candidate from Amritsar East, which at that time was held by the former cricketer's wife Navjot Kaur.

The Sidhu couple had then switched over from the BJP to the Congress.

A defeat for Sidhu this time could severely impact his political ambition and Majithia runs the risk of losing face if he bites the dust against his sworn foe as it will be a make or mar contest for both the leaders.

Amidst war of words between Sidhu and Majithia, Kejriwal recently said the public issues of the Assembly segment are getting buried because of their verbal spat, adding people have nothing to do with it and they are concerned about basic issues of electricity, drinking water, roads and schools.

The Amritsar East constituency, which is largely an urban seat, came into existence in 2012 after delimitation.

Sidhu's wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu became MLA on the BJP ticket in 2012. In 2017, Sidhu contested from Amritsar East and won by a margin of more than 40,000 votes after defeating BJP nominee Rajesh Kumar Honey.

Majithia, a three-time-MLA, has been representing the Majithia assembly seat since 2007.

With inputs from agencies

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