Cong leaders' show of unity falls flat as Bajwa walks out in a huff
Payal.Dhawan@timesofindia.com
Ludhiana: Three days before poll day, the Congress tried to put up a united front but failed. During a press conference held by the party's Punjab in-charge,
Bhupesh Baghel
, leaders who had remained distant from Ashu's campaign were also seen.
They included the party's Punjab president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and leader of opposition Partap Singh Bajwa. Both Bajwa and Warring addressed the press conference with Baghel. Incidentally, West bypoll in-charge, Rana Gurjeet Singh, refrained from sharing the stage with them despite being present in the election office. Ashu did not join the press conference as he was out for campaigning.
Warring drove Bhupesh Baghel, Partap Singh Bajwa and deputy chief minister of Himachal Pradesh, Mukesh Agnihotri to the party's election office, where Kapurthala MLA and campaign in-charge Rana Gurjeet Singh was present.
Warring and Rana Gurjeet had a brief conversation, after which Bajwa alighted from the car and tried to walk out of the office. Warring went after Bajwa and persuaded him to come back.
Those present speculated that Bajwa got offended on being told that Rana Gurjeet would participate in the press conference. Eventually, Rana Gurjeet maintained a distance from the press conference and kept sitting in the office.
The West bypoll is being seen as crucial for the 2027 assembly election.
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However, party's Punjab president Raja Warring, opposition leader Partap Bajwa, former deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Randhawa, besides local leaders such as district president Sanjay Talwar and some former MLAs including Rakesh Pandey, Surinder Dawar, and Kuldeep Vaid, have been missing in Ashu's campaign.
With the campaign in its last stages, the Congress made another effort to show unity. Earlier, during the nomination of Ashu, senior leaders, including Raja Warring, had reached the city.
Speaking on the occasion, Bhupesh Baghel, Raja Warring, and Partap Singh Bajwa said that the West bypoll would set the stage for the 2027 assembly elections. They added that Punjabis wanted to get rid of "outsiders" who had fooled Punjab in the name of change.
Warring asked why the CBI was silent about implementation of the same liquor policy which had been implemented in Delhi, in Punjab.
When Warring and Bajwa were asked if they would campaign for Ashu or if they would return after holding one press conference, Warring said, "We do what Baghel Saab assigns us to do." On being questioned about Ashu's absence, Baghel replied, "He is busy campaigning. His presence is not necessary here."
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