Punjab Congress: Amarinder Singh also said he would leave Congress but not join BJP. (File)
Amarinder Singh, the Congress's tallest leader in Punjab who stepped down from the post of the Chief Minister earlier this month, told NDTV today that the turbulence within the state party has come as a godsend to Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party. AAP, he said, is on the rise in the state, fuelled by the decline of the Congress and this, he said, has been the findings of a recent survey by his own party.
The survey -- done by the Congress between July and September -- shows that it has "seen a 20% decline", said the former Chief Minister.
"This election will be very different with the Congress, AAP, Akali Dal, factions of the Akali Dal, and there may be another front emerging too... so, it will be a very different election," Mr Singh told NDTV in an exclusive interview.
Mr Singh, who has confessed to being "humiliated" by the Congress leadership thrice in his face-off with arch-rival Navjot Singh Sidhu, also said he would not be staying with the party any longer. But neither would he migrate to the BJP, he added, dismissing speculation about the matter triggered by his meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah yesterday.
The year-long feud most of which was carried out publicly, is seen to have lowered the party's chances of a second term, even though the section of MLAs opposing Mr Singh had put it down to his government's lack of performance.
AAP -- which has been targeting neighbouring Punjab since its stupendous victory in Delhi in 2015 -- has not been able to make sufficient headway in the state in elections so far.
While in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, it won four of the state's 13 seats, its performance in the 2017 state elections fell short of target despite a massive initial surge of support.
The party could only win 20 of the 117 assembly seats with a 23.8 per cent vote share.
This time, Arvind Kejriwal, who has been making regular visits to the state, has again applied the Delhi formula, promising the state free power and water.
Today, he followed up those initial promises with another eight on healthcare -- which includes free treatment, mohalla clinics and upgraded infrastructure in government hospitals.
But the party's failure to project a face for the top post so far is seen as a serious drawback.