Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh met Congress President Sonia Gandhi at the latter’s residence in New Delhi. Punjab Congress in-charge Harish Rawat was already present there.
This meeting was Captain's first meeting with Sonia Gandhi after Navjot Sidhu took over as Punjab Congress chief. Despite the displeasure, the Captain accepted the decision of the Congress High Command and accepted Sidhu as the head. He had also reached the Congress Bhawan in Chandigarh for the coronation ceremony of Sidhu.
Sonia Gandhi and Amarinder Singh have met at a time when there is a discussion that there may be an expansion of the cabinet in the Punjab government. According to sources, Raj Kumar Verka and Rana KP are the two likely candidates whose names are doing rounds in Congress circles. Verka is a Dalit leader who is said to be close to Sidhu and Rana is an OBC leader as well as Speaker of the Assembly.
Sources also said that Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh may drop some ministers from the cabinet. The names of Gurpreet Kangar and Charanjit Channi are being taken in this regard. Further changes in the state party organization can happen after the reshuffle of the ministerial post.
The Captain also took some files with him. Those files are expected about the action being taken on the 18-point formula of the High Command and the work of the ministers. However, there has been no official response from the Captain yet.
“Capt Amrinder Singh met Congress President Sonia Gandhi in Delhi this evening to discuss various state-related issues. Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh spent an extremely satisfying one hour with her,” stated Media Advisor Raveen Thukral.
Poll strategist Prashant Kishor also met Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh in Delhi today just a few days after quitting as the political advisor to him. On August 5, Prashant Kishor quit as Punjab CM's political advisor, claiming that he wanted to "take a temporary break from an active participation in public life."
All of this comes months before Punjab heads into assembly elections. Elections are due for Punjab’s 117 assembly seats in the first half of next year.
Also read: Decriminalising politics: SC fines Cong, BJP, 6 other parties for contempt
Meanwhile, Punjab CM also met Home Minister Amit Shah to discuss Punjab’s border security issues. After tiffin bomb was recovered by Punjab Police, the state has been put on high alert; therefore, Punjab CM discussed this matter with home minister.