Some years ago, former cricketer and commentator-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu had said, “Wickets are like wives. You never know which way they will turn.” Mr Sidhu is no wicket, and going by his own definition, not a wife either. His political turns have little mystery to them anymore. There is actually a Sidhuism for it ‑ “Promises, like eggs, are meant to be broken.” Sidhu made his political debut in 2004, alongside film actor Suresh Oberoi and TV actor Gajendra Yudhisthir Chauhan. At the time, when asked about his decision, Sidhu had said, “No party is good or bad, its thinking is what makes a party good or bad. Swans and fish co-exist happily in Mansarovar.”

Swans and fish

Perhaps Mansarovar is home to a certain variety of fish and swans, perhaps Sidhu knew what he was saying, but typically swans feed on fish — small ones. Sidhu won the BJP the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat in 2004 and 2009; in between, in 2007, he won a by-election. In his cricket career, Sidhu was known for his fours and sixes; the singles he ignored. In the 2014 elections, when the BJP had the late Arun Jaitley fight elections from Amritsar, Sidhu all but retired from active politics. The BJP nominated him to the Rajya Sabha in 2016, but two months into his term he quit. He said, “I quit from Rajya Sabha because I was told that I shouldn’t look towards Punjab.”

Aap jaisa koi

When Sidhu walked out of Mansarovar… sorry, the BJP, the Punjab Assembly elections were around the corner. For a while there was speculation that he might join the AAP, but eventually he joined the Congress. Overnight, he felt at home, olden family associations with the grand old party came flooding back. Soon he was calling the BJP Kaikeyi and the Congress Kaushalya. As analogies go, he was Ram. No swans, no fish. It is election time and yesterday once again for Sidhu. The party high command is sending mixed signals, Sidhu is sometimes growling, sometimes scowling, sometimes prowling. When asked if Sidhu was considering the AAP option, Arvind Kejriwal had said last month, “He is welcome.” If we could get Sidhu himself to commentate on Sidhu, what would he say? Perhaps this ‑ Aap jaisa koi mere zindagi me mein aaye toh. No?