6 reasons why Captain Amarinder Singh resigned as Chief Minister of Punjab

By Lokmat English Desk | Published: September 19, 2021 12:58 PM2021-09-19T12:58:42+5:302021-09-19T12:58:42+5:30

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The intriguing drama in Punjab Congress continued all through Saturday stretching well past midnight, with the party still struggling to zero in on a successor to disgruntled outgoing Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh.

This is one of the major promises that the Congress came to power in the 2017 elections. At the time of swearing in the holy book, Amarinder had promised to break the drug racket in Punjab. But no drastic action has been taken in the last five years.

Looking at the appointments made by Amarinder in the last five years, it is clear that he has lost more faith in the bureaucracy and his political colleagues. For the last several months, the Chief Minister's direct contact with the MLAs had also diminished. Many MLAs have called on the Chief Minister.

The Congress won 77 seats in 2017 out of a total of 117 MLAs in the Assembly. But in the last few days, many MLAs have been turning against Captain Amarinder. Yesterday, about 45 MLAs met and demanded a change of leadership. 44 out of 77 is almost the majority.

Whether it is the firing in the Guru Granth Sahib arson case or the Dera Sacha Sauda case, the Punjab government has been accused of not taking a firm stand in these cases. Allegations that Captain Amarinder did not allow the case to be investigated properly as he was giving a soft corner to Badal.

In the polls that were coming to the party about Punjab, many surveys were showing that re-election under Amarinder's leadership was difficult. Amarinder's growing age and declining popularity among MLAs also felt that his grip had diminished. The High Command on the same background.

The Congress has played a sympathetic role in the farmers' movement. But last week, Amarinder called on the protesters to leave Punjab.