Sonia Gandhi Conceded “Shielding” Amarinder Singh Was Mistake: Sources

New Delhi:

On the Congress Working Committee (CWC) assembly on Sunday, social gathering chief Sonia Gandhi mentioned that shielding former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh regardless of a rising pushback in opposition to him throughout the social gathering’s state unit was a “mistake”, sources have advised NDTV.

The Congress held a marathon assembly for almost 5 hours on Sunday to dissect its disastrous efficiency within the 5 state elections final week that included the social gathering dropping one of many final three states it dominated by itself.

When a senior chief questioned the timing of Amarinder Singh’s removing as Chief Minister, late final yr, saying it ought to have been accomplished a lot earlier and was very badly dealt with, Sonia Gandhi intervened and mentioned she was to be blamed as she shielded him for a very long time, sources mentioned.

“She admitted that it was her mistake and error of judgment to have allowed him to proceed as Chief Minister,” NDTV was advised by a celebration chief who attended the assembly that reposed its religion within the Gandhis as its captains.

After months of inner wrangling between Amarinder Singh and the social gathering’s state chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, the previous Chief Minister was requested to step down in September, with simply 5 months to go for the elections that had been held in February.

He launched a brand new social gathering, the Punjab Lok Congress, and fought the elections with the BJP, failing to win a single seat together with his long-time bastion of Patiala.

After Captain Singh’s departure, the Congress was besieged by one other surreptitious rivalry between his successor Charanjit Singh Channi and Navjot Singh Sidhu that led to a tug-of-war for the social gathering’s Chief Ministerial nomination.

That feud was settled by senior chief Rahul Gandhi, lower than two weeks earlier than the elections, who picked Mr Channi, praising him because the “son of a poor family” whereas his nephew got here beneath anti-corruption raids.

The Congress scored simply 18 seats out of 117 whereas the eight-year-old Aam Aadmi Celebration (AAP) acquired 92, closing a surprising sweep led by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Punjab nominee Bhagwant Mann.