Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh’s firm opposition to the planned elevation of Navjot Singh Sidhu as the state Congress president has forced the central leadership to undertake yet another agonising round of fire-fighting.

The formula, worked out after weeks of reconciliation efforts, has almost come to a naught as neither side is willing to give up. While Sidhu becoming state chief was anyway unacceptable to the chief minister, his apparent hostile gesture of holding a separate meeting with supporters, which included some ministers and MLAs, left Amarinder seething with rage. Amarinder also met with his supporters at a farm house and conveyed his feelings to Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

The situation was so explosive that Sidhu was summoned to Delhi on Friday morning for a meeting with Sonia and Rahul Gandhi. What transpired at the meeting was not known but general secretary in-charge of Punjab, Harish Rawat, told reporters no final decision on Sidhu’s appointment had been taken and efforts to address any misgivings were on.

He said Sonia was yet to give her stamp of approval to the final decision.

Navjot Singh Sidhu File picture

Party leaders were in the dark about the negotiations as Sonia is now directly dealing with both Amarinder and Sidhu but there were enough indications of enduring conflict between the two groups.

Party MP Manish Tewari, who is the chief minister’s choice for heading the state unit, sent out an unambiguous message through a tweet: “Demographics of Punjab: Sikhs: 57.75 per cent, Hindus: 38.49 per cent, Dalits: 31.94 per cent (Sikh & Hindus). Punjab is both progressive & secular. BUT balancing social interest groups is key. Equality is the basis of social justice.”

The emphasis was on the substantial presence of Hindus, which meant giving both the key posts — chief minister and party chief – to Sikhs from the same district, may not be wise.

The balancing act with two working presidents from Hindu communities may not have the desired effect as both Amarinder and Sidhu will be seen as the party’s face. The chief minister wants a Hindu or a Dalit as state chief, a proposal that kills two birds with one stone. While Sidhu will be denied the key post, the party’s social engineering messaging is also taken care of.

But the problem is that Sidhu is not ready for anything less. Offers like working president or campaign committee chairman have been given to him but he is hell-bent on a position that brings him on a par with the chief minister. The leadership skills of Sonia and Rahul will be tested in this tussle and will have an impact on factional feuds in other states as well.