CHANDIGARH: In a massive embarrassment to the Congress ahead of 2022 Punjab assembly polls, former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday announced to launch his own new party, days after he was asked to step down from the top post amid revolt from within.
Addressing a press conference here at Hyatt hotel, Amarinder said “the name of new party will be announced once the Election Commission clears it, along with the election symbol.”
He further said that his lawyers are working on the registration process of his new political party.
Speaking on the plans of his party in the state, he said that when the time comes we will fight all 117 seats. “Whether adjustment seats or we contest on our own,” the former Chief Minister said.
Amarinder’s announcement coincides with the controversy over his female friend and former defence journalist Aroosa Alam from Pakistan and barbs being exchanged between him and his former Punjab cabinet colleagues on inquiry by the new Congress regime against her alleged links with the spy agency.
While deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Randhawa, who holds Home portfolio in Punjab, has said that state police would prove how Alam managed a stay in Chandigarh and other parts of Punjab, accusing her links with the Pakistan spy-agency ISI, Amarinder has launched multiple attacks on Congress by releasing photographs where Alam is seen sharing public space with Sonia Gandhi and several former cabinet ministers.
On the day of his party’s announcement, Randhawa chose to be in the national capital and meet Gandhis.
Randhawa’s visit was kept low-profile on a day when Amarinder made his announcement but sources in Congress told The New Indian that there is a fear that the Patial royal Amarinder may walk away with a few MLAs.
To a question over the alliance with the BJP in the state and Sidhu’s tweet on him, he said, “He knows nothing, he only talks too much and doesn’t have brains.
His remarks came over the tweet by Sidhu, in which he said, “We the 78 MLAs of Congress, could never imagine, what we received an arm-twisted, ED-controlled BJP loyal Chief Minister of Punjab Captain Amarinder….”
Amarinder Singh also said that on Thursday he will take some people with him to meet Shah on the three farm laws.
I never spoke to (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah or Dhindsa over polls yet, but I will. I want to be strong to fight Congress, SAD and AAP. I shall talk to them, we will put up united front to defeat these people
Singh’s turbulence within Congress also has roots in the past.
He did not think twice before quitting the Congress party to voice his protest against Operation Bluestar in 1984.
But his move comes at a time when Akalis have expressed their disagreement and separated themselves from BJP and joined hands with Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has learnt from its mistake of peaking too early in 2017 polls.
Sukhbir has largely kept his attack on BJP and AAP, but he also trained his guns on Amarinder, saying it was “BJP and RSS which had come to save him and rally behind him in 2017 elections,” a charge which BJP denied.
BJP Punjab chief Ashwani Sharma told the New Indian that Sukhbir’s future and that of Akali Dal is on a sticky wicket and he never made such disclosures when he was in alliance with BJP till last year.
“Now that Badals or Akali Dal is no longer with us, who will believe such baseless statements. Why didn’t he make such absurd claims then and countered us? They came third in the overall tally and won some seats with around 1,500-2000 margin due to BJP’s support as ally partner,” said Ashwani Sharma.