The Congress in Punjab received a major setback on Sunday, when its legislator, Arvind Khanna, who represented the Dhuri constituency resigned from the State Assembly. The Speaker, Charanjit Singh Atwal, is yet to take a final decision on the matter.
Though Mr. Khanna's brief statement explained that he was quitting the State legislature and active politics to devote more time to his personal life, family, businesses and social projects. The development is said to be rooted to the turbulence faced by the party's Punjab unit. Mr. Khanna, who is also a relative of the party's Deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Amarinder Singh, is the fourth MLA from the party to have tendered his resignation since the last Assembly polls in 2012.
Mr. Khanna had tendered his resignation earlier, but withdrew it after the Congress announced Capt. Singh's candidature from Amritsar in Lok Sabha polls.
The political career of Mr. Khanna, also considered close to Akali Dal's Secretary General Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, hit the doldrums when the names of his family members figured in the food for oil scam in Iraq.
Earlier, Joginderpal Jain from Moga and Jeet Mohinder Singh Sidhu from Talwandi Sabo, had resigned as Congress MLAs to join the Akali Dal and got re-elected. Capt. Singh too had to resign from Patiala seat after he won the Amritsar Lok Sabha constituency.
However, his wife and former Union minister of State for External Affairs, Preneet Kaur, who lost from the Patiala parliamentary, was elected from the Patiala Assembly seat in the by-election last year.
Mr. Khanna's resignation comes at a very crucial phase in Punjab politics, where fissures are seen in the ruling Akali Dal-BJP alliance, while the opposition Congress is rocked by revolt against the leadership of the president of the State unit, Partap Singh Bajwa.
While the Akali Dal president and Deputy Chief Minister, Sukhbir Singh Badal has been openly claiming that at least half a dozen Congress MLAs would resign and join the Akali fold, the BJP leaders have been making similar claims, albeit in private, that Akali legislators were waiting to switch over into their camp.
In an eventuality of it winning the Dhuri seat in an ensuing by-poll, the Akali Dal would have 58 MLAs and may not remain dependent on the BJP to save its government, as it would have attained simple majority in the 117 member Punjab Assembly.
