THE RETURN OF THE RENEGADE

PUNJAB/CONGRESS

- Anilesh S. Mahajan

On June 30, cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu posted a photograph on social media in which he is seen with Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi. The two had reportedly had a four-hour meeting, and the photograph was to serve as some kind of evidence that he had the ear of the Gandhi siblings Priyanka and Rahul.

The photo-op was not without political significance, and does count for something in his current row with the Punjab chief minister Capt. Amarinder Singh, given specially that he was initially denied audience by the Congress first family. (Sonia Gandhi later met the Captain on July 6).

In his home state, Sidhu has the image of being ambitious, impetuous and an eternal rebel. His Twitter bio says ‘Master of All Trades, Jack of None’, a ‘Sidhuism’ that pretty much summarises the arc of his public life, from flashy cricketer to oddball commentator to reality show judge to part-time actor to Big Boss contender to mainstream politician. A cricket star from Punjab’s affluent Jat Sikh community, he was an instant crowd-puller in politics, and the BJP used him well for some 13 years till he jumped ship and joined the Congress. Indeed, his oratorical flair is the reason why the Congress makes the extra effort to accommodate him, for Sidhu has few loyalists among the 83 party legislators in the state (ex-India hockey captain and MLA Pargat Singh being the lone exception).

Sidhu’s oratorical skills are why the Congress makes the extra effort to accommodate him; he has few friends among the 83 party MLAs in Punjab