AAP’s Sherry plan may stumble

With Navjot Singh Sidhu not spelling out his future plans in his first interaction with media since he resigned from Rajya Sabha last week, there is a general feeling in Punjab that cricketer turned politician is still playing his cards close to his chest and keeping his options open.

The fact that Sidhu did not speak anything other than that he would stand for the interest of Punjab and would never stay away from the state as he was told to do, clearly show that he is still trying to weigh his options and bargain hard.

In Punjab, people were waiting for Sidhu to be more forthcoming about his plans. However, with the initial euphoria of his joining AAP dying down, there is a belief that Sidhu is trying to hunt with hounds and run with hares.

He has not quit BJP as of now even though he resigned from his Rajya Sabha seat. There were some negotiations going on with AAP as to the role he would be assigned in case he joins the party.

Sources say that Sidhu has put forth some conditions to AAP in case he joins the party, and one of the conditions is that he should be made the face of the party in Punjab. However, there is bitter resistance to this condition from local leadership as well as caders of AAP. They think that this would demoralize the party caders who have been working hard for last couple of years on the grass-root level. If a paratrooper is made the face of the party ignoring the original leadership of the same, this would go against the basic philosophy of AAP as they promise to choose leaders from the caders. This resistance has also forced Sidhu to be cautious before leaving BJP and joining AAP, political observers believe.

The other important point is that Sidhu has still not left BJP. Even in his interactions, he did not speak against BJP or its leadership. The Punjab state BJP chief, Vijay Sampla, has said that “Sidhu is still very much a part of BJP.”

There is speculation that Sidhu could be placated by the BJP leadership soon and would be used for the Assembly elections by the party. The silence on Sidhu’s part on his future fuels this speculation.