Navjot Singh Sidhu appointed Punjab Congress chief ahead of 2022 Assembly polls

Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu has been named as the new chief Punjab Congress, while four others have been appointed as Working Presidents.

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New Delhi: AICC chief Sonia Gandhi on Sunday (July 18) announced the appointment of Navjot Singh Sidhu as the President of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee with immediate effect. Issuing a party release, the cricketer-turned-politician has been named as the new chief of the state unit. 

Apart from Sidhu, Sangat Singh Gilzian, Sukhwinder Singh Danny, Pawan Goel and Kuljit Singh Nagra have has also been appointed as Working Presidents of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee. The decision comes after a slew of meetings Congress high command held with Sidhu and Punjab chief minster Amarinder Singh, both have been at loggerheads for some time now.

"Congress President has appointed Navjot Singh Sidhu as the President of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee with immediate effect. Congress President has also appointed Sangat Singh Gilzian, Sukhwinder Singh Danny, Pawan Goel and Kuljit Singh Nagra as Working Presidents of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee," the statement issued by Congress general secretary KC Venugopal read. 

On July 17, Congress general secretary in charge of Punjab Harish Rawat met Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh in Mohali wherein the CM assured Rawat that he will honour any decision taken by the party high command.

मैं, @capt_amarinder जी से मिलकर अभी-अभी दिल्ली लौटा हूंँ। मुझे प्रसन्नता है कि बहुत सारी बातें जो बाहर चर्चा में हैं, वो बिल्कुल निर्मूल साबित हुई हैं और कैप्टन साहब ने फिर से अपने उस महत्वपूर्ण बयान को दोहराया है,
1/2 pic.twitter.com/bBSvCCbfV2 — Harish Rawat (@harishrawatcmuk) July 17, 2021

Sidhu, who was a part of Amarinder Singh's cabinet but had resigned after his portfolio was changed in 2019, has been critical of Amarinder Singh over many issues including his handling of 2015 sacrilege incidents and subsequent firings.

Earlier, several Congress MPs sought an appointment with Sonia Gandhi to convey a message that the majority of them were of the view that Navjot Singh Sidhu should not be appointed as the state party chief. Congress MPs from both Houses met on Sunday afternoon at Rajya Sabha member Pratap Singh Bajwa`s residence to discuss the likely move to appoint Sidhu as the state Congress chief, sources said.

The Congress had been making efforts to resolve the infighting as the state will go to polls next year.