Amarinder Singh, the Chief Minister of Punjab, has resigned months before the state’s elections next year. After most of the party’s MLAs sought a change, he was asked to leave by Congress. An enraged Amarinder Singh had told Sonia Gandhi this morning that he had endured enough humiliation after months of rebellion and in-house assaults.
Mr. Singh, or “Captain,” is said to have told Congress President Rahul Gandhi, “I can’t stay in the party with this type of humiliation.” “Must leave now as I am happy to accompany my father to Raj Bhawan when he submits his resignation as CM of Punjab and leads us as head of our family into a new beginning at all,” Amarinder Singh’s son Raninder Singh tweeted.
Mr. Singh had defied the party’s resigning order, raising the prospect of a Congress split only months before the Punjab poll. Mr. Singh also convened a gathering of MLAs to encourage his supporters since the 117-member Punjab assembly votes early next year, and numbers played a role. The conference was attended by fifteen of Congress’s 80 MLAs, including four ministers.
Amarinder Singh submits resignation to Governor
According to sources, over 50 MLAs wrote to Sonia Gandhi asking that Amarinder Singh be removed as Chief Minister, leading the party to call an emergency conference of MLAs late Wednesday night. Former Punjab Congress chairmen Sunil Jakhar and Pratap Singh Bajwa and Beant Singh’s grandson Ravneet Singh Bittu are among the candidates for his replacement. Mr. Singh’s departure had been all but confirmed by Sunil Jakhar just hours before.
The Punjab issue has erupted into a full-fledged civil war over the Chief Minister’s long-running rivalry with Navjot Singh Sidhu. Despite the Leader Minister’s vehement opposition, the party nominated Navjot Sidhu as Punjab chief in July, but the hostility remained just beneath the surface.
The ceasefire began to disintegrate after a disagreement over Mr. Sidhu’s advisers and their provocative comments, which Mr. Singh publicly denounced. Four ministers and around a half-dozen party MPs filed new complaints against Amarinder Singh last month, warning the leadership that they had lost trust in his capacity to keep election pledges.
