With just a few months left for the assembly elections, the factional fight within the Punjab Congress shows no sign abating. The ongoing Amarinder Singh versus Navjot Singh Sidhu feud takes a new direction everyday. The latest being the show of strength by rival camps. The Singh camp on Thursday met over a dinner, which was attended by  58 MLAs and eight MPs.

The Punjab Assembly has 117 seats and the Congress has 80 legislators in the House. The dinner was hosted by Singh loyalist Punjab Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi at his official residence.

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Among those missing from the dinner were transport minister Razia Sultana and food Supplies minister Bharat Bhusan Ashu. Four rebel ministers were absent, according to reports.  

Going by the number of MLAs who turned up for the dinner, it seems that Amarinder Singh still has the upper hand in the party. The dinner was hosted on the day Congress’s Punjab in-charge Harish Rawat made it clear that Sidhu’s advisors, who had made controversial comments on Kashmir, had to be sacked. “These advisers were not appointed by the party. We have asked Sidhu to dismiss them. If Sidhu does not do that, I will. We do not want people who embarrass the party,” Rawat told ndtv.com.

Sidhu’s advisors Pyare Lal Garg and Malwinder Mali landed in controversy with their recent comments on Pakistan and Kashmir. In Facebook posts, Mali described Kashmir as a ‘country of Kashmiri people’ and that both India and Pakistan were illegal occupants of Kashmir. He had also questioned why Jammu and Kashmir has been “turned into an open jail.”

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Sidhu and Singh have been at each other’s throats for years now with the cricketer-turned-politician resigning as a state minister in 2019 after he was stripped of his local bodies portfolio. After many public spats and damaging statements, the party decided to intervene.

In July, the Congress high command stepped in and decided to elevate Sidhu to PCC chief’s post. Amarinder Singh was not happy about the decision but gave in to the Gandhis. The peace formula was short lived as Sidhu continued to take potshots at the CM and his government, criticising his way of functioning.