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Journalism of Courage
When Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu tweeted on Friday that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal had once sought her husband, former Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, “to lead Punjab AAP”, she wasn’t really revealing a state secret.
Amid the ongoing feud between Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of the AAP and the cricketer-turned-politician, the latter’s wife Dr Sidhu tweeted on Friday that her husband had “gifted” the CM’s chair to the incumbent. She wrote: “CM Bhagwant Mann, let me today open out a hidden secret from your treasure hunt. You should know that the very honourable chair you are occupying has been gifted to you by your big brother, Mr Navjot Sidhu. Your very own senior most leader had desired Navjot to lead Punjab.”
She also tweeted, “Mr Kejriwal through various channels approached him to lead Punjab knowing about his passion for our state. Just because he didn’t want to betray his party and thought that 2 strong headed people might clash when it came to strategy to uplift Punjab, he gave you a chance.”
“His only concern is the welfare of Punjab and he has sacrificed everything for it. You tread on the path of TRUTH and he shall support you but the moment you deviate he will target you left and right. Golden Punjab state is his dream and he lives it 24 hours a day. Love.
Reports that Sidhu was flirting with the AAP first began to emerge just ahead of the 2017 Assembly elections in Punjab. All eyes were on Sidhu when he finally joined the Congress in January 2017, a few weeks before the state went to the polls.
At the time, Sidhu had himself disclosed that while he was in talks with the AAP, former Congress strategist Prashant Kishor (PK) had got in touch with him. Sidhu went on record saying PK had met him at least 60 times before the 2017 elections.
Even Congress sources had acknowledged that Sidhu’s entry at the time had helped the grand old party come out winners in the perception game, as it created an impression that the Congress was winning the state. “Sidhu was considered a force multiplier at the time. He had quit the BJP and had not joined any party. There were reports that he was in talks with the AAP. Then PK, who was designing former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh’s campaign, took the then AICC chief Rahul Gandhi into confidence and got in touch with Sidhu. He was a star then. It helped,” a Congress leader said.
However, Sidhu has disclosed it at least twice after 2017 that Kejriwal was not willing to offer him any ticket. After the 2017 Assembly elections, he had said, “He wanted me to campaign for the party but said that my wife Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu would be contesting the election. I said this was not acceptable.” Clearly, this contradicts part of Dr Sidhu’s latest claims.
Later, ahead of the 2022 Assembly elections, the Congress was back to watching Sidhu keenly, amid speculation that he was again in touch with the AAP through strategist Prashant Kishor, who had designed AAP’s strategy for last Delhi Assembly elections.
At the time, Sidhu was in a self-imposed exile, having resigned from the Amarinder Cabinet in July 2019 in protest against the CM changing his portfolio, citing non-performance. He was not in touch with any Congress leader when pictures of his meeting with PK had gone viral. Sidhu was later named PPCC chief , but he lost to the AAP candidate Jeevan Jyot Kaur from Amritsar (East).
Responding to Dr Kaur’s claims, Malvinder Singh Kang, chief spokesperson of the AAP in Punjab, said, “Dil ke khush rakhne ko Ghalib yeh khayal achha hai (Such beliefs are good for keeping one’s ego satisfied). Sidhu sahib has already been rejected by the people of Punjab. Mann sahib is the most respected and loved leader. He is a natural choice of people and party. Kejriwal has huge trust in him. What this couple says does not mean anything.”
