Congress leader Navjot Kaur Sidhu stoked a controversy on Tuesday, alleging that it was Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and party general secretary in-charge for Punjab Asha Kumari who ensured that she was denied the Lok Sabha ticket from Amritsar.
“Captain Sahib and Asha Kumari think Madam Sidhu does not deserve an MP ticket. I was denied the ticket from Amritsar on the grounds that I could not win in the aftermath of the Dussehra train tragedy in Amritsar last year,” she told reporters in Amritsar.
Ms. Kaur, wife of Navjot Singh Sidhu, said the Chief Minister thought that he was alone capable of leading the party to victory in all the 13 seats of the State.
“Amarinder Singh is our junior captain. Rahul Gandhi is our senior captain. Our junior captain has said he would win all 13 seats by himself,” she said, indicating that she might not campaign for the party in the State.
On campaigning
“Captain Sahib will do the campaigning. Asha Kumari is also a star campaigner. Sidhu Sahib will go wherever Rahul asks him to go,” Ms. Sidhu added.
Earlier, Ms. Sidhu had staked claim to the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat but the party chose former Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal over her as he has been a four-time MP from the constituency.
In Amritsar, the Congress has pitted sitting MP Gurjit Singh Aujla against the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party nominee Hardeep Singh Puri.
The Amritsar constituency was represented by Navjot Singh Sidhu as a BJP leader on three occasions.
Punjab’s 13 LS seats go to the polls on May 19.
