In Capt Amarinder Singh, the BJP has a golden opportunity to get a tall Sikh leader in Punjab, after losing Navjot Sidhu in 2017
By Dinesh Sharma in Chandigarh
Ousted Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh’s meeting with Union home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Wednesday has set off a flurry of speculations as to whether the `humiliated’ Congress leader is joining the BJP just five months before the Punjab assembly elections?
What happens if he joins the BJP?
Here are two major points to consider:
One, will he join the party with which he has been locked in a bitter war of words over the three farm bills and thus lose his following in the Punjab peasantry?
Two, will the 79-year-old tallest Sikh leader in Punjab be accepted by the BJP which has set 75 as the cut-off age for its leaders?
Frankly, the BJP will waive every condition and do anything to get the Captain in its fold. The party is looking for a Sikh face in Punjab, and there is no one better than Amarinder Singh at this time. He is seen as a nationalist to the core and tough on terrorism – which fits in well with the BJP’s agenda.
The BJP could have nurtured Navjot Sidhu as its Sikh face in Punjab. But because of its alliance with the Akali Dal, the saffron party failed to do so as it didn’t want to antagonise the Badals in the Sikh-majority state. Another reason for the BJP not to promote Sidhu was the animosity between Sidhu and the Badals. In fact, the Badals got Sidhu sidelined in the BJP when they got the late finance minister Arun Jaitley to contest from Amritsar in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Sidhu, who had held that the Amritsar seat for the BJP since 2004, was offered another seat in Delhi but he refused.
In 2017, Sidhu and the BJP parted company and he joined the Congress just before the Punjab state elections. So Sidhu was a missed opportunity for the saffron party.
Now in Capt Amarinder Singh, the BJP has another and its biggest opportunity to `catch’ the most prominent Sikh face in Indian politics. There are all the signs that the saffron party will do everything to get him to join it.
If the BJP gets the Captain, it can reap some quick benefits, apart from the long-term benefits.
In Amarinder Singh, the BJP can find an opportunity to save its face on the three farm laws – against which the farmers have been agitating for 10 months now. The party can use Amarinder Singh as its face in striking a deal with the farmers to end their agitation by scrapping the three farm laws and putting in place a mechanism to ensure minimum support price for crops. It will be a win-win for the BJP and Amarinder Singh. For this purpose, the BJP can even induct Amarinder Singh as agriculture minister in the Modi Cabinet right away.
What happens in Punjab if Amarinder joins the BJP?
No doubt he is one of the tallest Sikh leaders despite the anti-incumbency factor going against him and despite failing to fulfil many of his election promises to the people of Punjab. His plus points are that the Captain is above communal and caste issues. Being the scion of the former royal family of Patiala, he command a huge respect among various sections of Punjab society. He has a huge following among the Hindus of Punjab.
The Congress came to power in Punjab in 2017 because of Captain Amarinder Singh, not the Nehru-Gandhi family. That’s why he took independent decisions such as the formation of his Cabinet without interference from the so-called high command in Delhi. He never bowed and scraped before the Nehru-Gandhi family. That’s why the Nehru-Gandhi family supported Navjot Sidhu when he raised the banner of revolt against the Captain. In the end, Sidhu was installed as the state party chief and Captain ousted as the chief minister.
If the BJP can get Captain Amarinder Singh as its captain in Punjab, the party can create an independent space for itself, without banking on the Akalis. Apart from Hindu votes, Captain can help the BJP make inroads in other communities in the state.
In a nutshell, in Captain Amarinder Singh the BJP senses a golden opportunity for itself in Punjab.
