Navjot Sidhu For Congress? Not Quite Yet. 'Stars Do Matter,' Says Wife

Amritsar: A day after Rahul Gandhi met Navjot Singh Sidhu, the cricket commentator's wife, who is also a politician, has said that the couple "wants clarity" on what they are being offered before Mr Sidhu formally joins the Congress. In what seems contradictory to that stand, she then went on to say, "Our joining the Congress is unconditional."

The 53-year-old former cricketer quit the BJP in September 2016, after alleging that he had been sidelined by the party, which had forced him to surrender his parliamentary seat of Amritsar for Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who lost the constituency in 2014. Two months later, his wife, Navjyot Kaur Sidhu, joined the Congress. Negotiations for how and when Navjot Singh will come on board have been long-running.   

"Yes, we believe a lot in astrology, he will be particular about on what date he joins. Stars do affect you," said Navjot Kaur, who in an earlier interview, said her husband and she are "the same soul n two bodies."
 
Punjab votes on February 4. The Congress campaign, with Captain Amarinder Singh as presumptive Chief Minister, is in full swing. So is that of Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party, and that of the Badals, who head the incumbent government with the BJP.

Navjot Kaur said today that either her husband or she will run for the Punjab assembly, but it is believed that Mr Sidhu has demanded four to five assembly seats for his associates including his wife, besides the Amritsar parliamentary seat, vacated by Captain Singh.

Advertisement

The Congress is also contending with Mr Siddhu's reported claim for the office of Deputy Chief Minister in case of a Congress victory; Captain Singh has refused to commit to that, stating that a decision would be taken by Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Mr Gandhi at an "appropriate time".

"We want a clear role in Punjab, we don't want the same insecure relations with Amarinder Singh as had with the Akalis," she said, referring to the couple's acrimonious split from their earlier political partners.
 

Advertisement