New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi met five senior Punjab leaders on Sunday and asked them to fight the upcoming assembly elections collectively, asserting that the party has a “very good chance” in the state amid buzz of organisational changes in its Punjab unit.
Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Pratap Singh Bajwa, former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, senior leaders Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Vijay Inder Singla met Rahul Gandhi at 10, Janpath, Sonia Gandhi’s residence.
Punjab goes to polls early next year. “I put forward my viewpoint on what is best for the party, and I’ve said whatever decision you (Rahul Gandhi) take, we will stand by that. We are committed soldiers of the Congress. Our families have sacrificed for the interest of Punjab, for the unity and integrity of this nation,” Bajwa told reporters after the meeting.
“The leadership decision is with Rahul, whatever position he may give or not give, we stand by him,” Bajwa asserted.
Gandhi met the five leaders one-on-one separately to get their views on the roadmap in the run-up to the Punjab Assembly polls, according to the leaders who met Gandhi.
“Rahul Gandhi’s message was, ‘You have to fight collectively, Punjab is an important state, and we stand a very good chance.’ The leaders shared their views on the leadership issue and the best way forward. Basically, he stressed that we must protect Punjab’s interests,” a source privy to the meetings said.
Earlier this month, the Congress named Ajay Maken, Meenakshi Natarajan and Bhajan Lal Jatav as All India Congress Committee observers to assess and submit a report on the current political scenario in Punjab.
They submitted their report to the high command.
