Captain can turn spoil sport for Congress

Having resigned as the Chief Minister of Punjab, Capt Amrinder Singh soothed his bruised ego for some time and now has announced the floating of his party. Whether this could lead to a fresh political churn in Punjab is to be seen. But, it will have its repercussions soon depending on the alliances it develops and the agenda it follows.

Normally speaking, it should not be difficult for the ruling Congress to overcome the challenge of any political party having secured itself from the farmers' politics to some extent. With the BJP being the main target and its leaders being hounded by the protesting farmers everywhere, the party's leadership is cooling its heels everywhere in the State.

Its leaders are keeping a low profile or have shifted base to Delhi to avoid the political heat. Some of them who dared step into their constituencies to attend some programme or the other faced serious protests and had to beat a hasty retreat.

It is not that the Congress leaders of Punjab or the State government itself did not meet any resistance. These too faced problems. But as the ire was stronger and more directed towards the BJP leaders, it remained more or less an anti-Centre movement.

Punjab's economy has taken a beating anyway in the process and even its industry is affected due to the dharnas, roadblocks and other forms of protests. Capt Amrinder Singh dealt with it in a dignified manner, nudging the attention of the protestors now and then towards the Centre.

However, Captain has not been allowed to steer the Congress ship through the troubled waters at least till the next Assembly elections due next year. Egged on by the Congress leadership, an inexperienced and raucous character called Navjot Sidhu destabilised the boat. However, he also lost in the process to Charanjit Singh Channi. After some initial antics, he settled down in favour of Channi.

There is a vast difference between Capt Amrinder Singh and the likes of Sidhu and Channi. The Captain is not only an astute politician but also a patriot whose nationalistic credentials could never be questioned. His experience came in handy for Punjab to handle the twin menace of drugs and terrorism to a good extent. He did not want the guard to be lowered against the Pakistani designs and always sought an active role of the Centre in countering the neighbour's moves. This, to some extent, has kept the window open for him in the BJP. This is where the Congress should be wary of his moves now.

Captain could come in handy for the BJP to handle the farmer crisis. Singh could be a worthwhile pawn in the hands of the BJP national leadership. This is where Amrinder matters for the BJP and any alliance of his with the Akali Dal and the BJP could then turn the tables on the fragile Congress leadership.

Congress cannot rule out the possibility and it should not too. Perhaps, there was a game plan to Amrinder quitting the CM's post, too. We don't know yet. Amrinder and Rakesh Tikait could have a 'guftagu' anytime and skittle away the protest in favour of the Centre.