Congress list for Punjab out, Navjot Singh Sidhu calls on Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday announced its third list of candidates for the Punjab Assembly elections. After this list, the total number of candidates announced have reached 100 in the 117-member Punjab Assembly. The remaining 17 will be announced in a day or two. It also includes Amritsar East which has been kept for the Sidhu family. As the list was announced, cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu met Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and the meeting between the two leaders lasted for almost forty-five minutes.

Mr Sidhu is expected to formally join the Congress anytime now. He has asked for the deputy chief minister’s post, the Congress, till now, has not agreed to it but has asked him to come on board. Punjab Congress chief Capt. Amarinder Singh said, “Mr Sidhu is joining the party unconditionally.” His wife, Navjot Kaur Sidhu, has already joined the Congress, along with former hockey player Pargat Singh, a former Akali Dal legislator.

The former BJP MP is expected to play a crucial role in Punjab which goes to poll on February 4. Sources say Mr Sidhu is likely to contest from the Amritsar East Assembly constituency which, at present, is represented by his wife. Since Amritsar parliamentary constituency has fallen vacant after the resignation of Capt. Amarinder Singh, Mr Sidhu wants his wife to contest polls from that seat. How-ever, a final decision on this is yet to be taken by the Congress high command.

Earlier, Mr Sidhu, his wife, Bains brothers and former Hockey player Pargat Singh had formed a front known as Aawaz-e-Punjab.

They were in talks with the Aam Aadmi Party for an alliance which did not fructify. So the Bains brothers joined the AAP and rest of them are with the Congress now.

Since the Congress desperately needs to win it is on a charm offensive to have the best faces on its side when Punjab goes to polls on 4 February this year