On Monday morning, the colour of former BJP MP Navjot Singh Sidhu’s ‘pagari’, a bright yellow usually sported by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Bhagwant Mann, was a dead giveaway for what he was to do.
By mid-afternoon, the former cricketer had resigned his Rajya Sabha seat and was set to join the AAP.
The move stunned the BJP which had thought that it had pacified Mr. Sidhu’s anger with the party for having to give up claims on the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat in favour of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, and being kept out of local politics because it discomfited BJP ally Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).
Mr. Sidhu had been given a Rajya Sabha seat through the nominated category, and his wife Dr. Navjot Kaur had been made chief parliamentary secretary (with ministerial rank) in the SAD-BJP government.
“Navjot Singh Sidhu had claimed that the party was his mother, but it seems his unreasonable ambition has got the better of him and he has decided to leave the party of his own free will. We will combat him, the way we do other political rivals,” said Prabhat Jha, BJP prabhari for Punjab.
Mr. Sidhu announced his resignation in a short letter.
“At the behest of the honourable Prime Minister, I had accepted the Rajya Sabha nomination for the welfare of Punjab. With the closure of every window leading to Punjab, the purpose stands defeated. It is now a mere burden, I prefer not to carry it. In the war of right or wrong, you cannot afford to be neutral, rather than being self-centred Punjab’s interest is paramount,” he said in his statement.
A few hours after that, AAP’s Punjab affairs incharge Sanjay Singh said: “I believe Navjot Sidhu has taken this step to make a better Punjab. This would save Punjab When the time is right a formal announcement will be made.”
Political observers said the resignation of Mr. Sidhu from the BJP is a setback for the party’s prospect in the Assembly elections and if he joins the AAP it will definitely work to the AAP’s advantage.
There was talk that Dr. Navjot Kaur too had resigned from her position in the Punjab government, but The Hindu could not get any independent confirmation of the same.
Political observers said the resignation of Mr. Sidhu is a setback for BJP’s prospects in the Assembly polls and if he joins the AAP it would definitely work to the AAP’s advantage.
“People can given their right hand for an RS seat. Ever seen a sitting RS MP resigning to save his State? I salute Siddhu for his courage,” Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted.
“Mr. Sidhu is a known face in Punjab and this would certainly help the AAP. It was lacking a state-wide ‘face’ to steer the party through the Assembly polls,” said Pramod Kumar, Director of Institute for Development and Communication in Chandigarh.
