Manish Tewari frontrunner for Punjab Congress President's post

NEW DELHI: After the panel set up by the Congress on Punjab submitted its report on the factionalism in its state unit, a change of guard looks imminent with the All India Congress Committee (AICC) looking for a suitable replacement for current Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) President Sunil Jakhar.

Sources said that former Union minister and Anandpur Sahib MP Manish Tewari is the frontrunner for the top post in Punjab, while the names of Vijay Inder Singla and Raj Kumar Verka are also being considered.

Tewari is a known face in Delhi and Punjab's political circles and has the backing of Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. Moreover, he can be appointed to woo the non-Sikh voters in the state, as he has been an MP from Ludhiana which has a large number of non-Sikh and migrant electorate.

AICC Secretary Vijay Inder Singla is a minister in the Punjab government, who is known to be close to the set up in former Congress President Rahul Gandhi's office.

The dark horse is Raj Kumar Verka, a Dalit leader from the Valmiki community. Verka is an MLA from Amritsar and has been the Vice Chairman of the SC Commission.

The probability of Verka being elevated to the top post in Punjab Congress has gathered momentum after the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) recently formed an alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) to contest the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections together. (IANS)

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