Punjab Election 2022: Ex-Congress state chief Sunil Jakhar quits active politics, upset over being sidelined
The 68-year-old Jakhar didn’t reveal his plans, saying, “What life has in store for you in the future cannot be predicted.”
FollowFormer Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar on Sunday, February 6 quit active electoral politics after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi announced CM Charanjit Singh Channi as the party’s chief ministerial candidate for the state Assembly elections. Jakhar was upset at having been sidelined.
Jakhar said on Sunday that he was still part of the Congress—a party he claimed had given him “so much”. Anybody doubting my commitment to the party is casting aspersions on me, he said, adding that he wasn’t actively campaigning for Assembly elections because he wasn’t contesting.
“I am very much a part of Congress… has given me so much and I am happy to be a soldier of the party, which my family has been associated with since long. I will not contest any election in the future, be it for assembly or Parliament,” Jakhar said.
The 68-year-old Jakhar didn’t reveal his plans, saying, “What life has in store for you in the future cannot be predicted.”
Also read: Punjab Election 2022: Charanjit Singh Channi is Congress’ CM face, Rahul Gandhi ends speculation
Confirming that he is leaving active politics, Jakhar told The Hindu, “There are some colleagues in the party with whom it has become difficult to go along, and hence I am quitting. I had enough. But I am very much part and parcel of the Congress party. Whatever duties the party gives me, I’ll perform. It’s only active electoral politics that I am quitting.”
Last week, a video surfaced online, in which Jakhar was heard saying that 42 MLAs wanted him to be the chief minister of the state after the unceremonious exit of Amarinder Singh.
Also last year, Jakhar stepped aside to make way for Sidhu, who was made the president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) at the height of the cricketer-turned-politician's bitter feud with Amarinder Singh, who has since left the Sonia Gandhi-headed party, and formed the Punjab Lok Congress (PLC).
