Captain Amarinder Singh, a former Congress veteran and a two-time chief minister of Punjab, had quit the grand old party in 2021 amid a feud with the top brass. He subsequently formed the Punjab Lok Congress (PLC), but merged it later with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after failing to win even a single seat in the 2022 Punjab elections. Now, ahead of next year's Punjab assembly elections, speculation is once again rife that the veteran leader could make a return to the Congress fold.
The speculations were fueled after Congress MP Rahul Gandhi called Singh his favourite politician from the BJP, with the former chief minister later replaying that his relationship with the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha and his mother Sonia Gandhi will always remain, even as he will stay committed to the saffron party.
"Captain Amarinder Singh, definitely. I get along with him, he's cool and he is an expert on military history, so I like him quite a lot. Hello, Uncle Amarinder," Gandhi had said in a video on his social media accounts when asked about his favourite politician from the BJP in a question-answer session.
Singh was considered as one of Congress' tallest face in Punjab and steered the party to victory in the 2017 assembly elections, becoming the chief minister for second time. In 2021, he resigned from the chief minister's position and the Congress because of infighting.
Will Amarinder Singh's return benefit Congress?
But Gandhi's friendly reference to Singh has once again sparked buzz over the latter's return to Congress. Yet, the bigger question remains on whether his return will benefit the Congress, as the party is already dealing with factionalism, with tussle between former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and state unit chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring.
Moreover, even if Singh returns, there is no clarity on what role could he be given and some believe that it could even increase the factionalism. But still, many in the Congress believe that Singh's experience will only benefit the party ahead of the 2027 Punjab elections.
"I don't wish anything," Congress leader Rana Gurjit Singh told news agency PTI when asked if he wants Singh to return to Congress. "Had he stayed he would have been like a father figure where everyone would have consulted him on various issues."
Assembly elections will be held in Punjab early next year, along with those in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur. The previous elections in 2022 were swept by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which one 92 seats, while the Congress was restricted to just 18 assembly constituencies.
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