Dhuri bypolls: Factionalism in Pb unit of Cong fails to die

Barely a week after putting up a united face, fissures in Punjab Congress today came to the fore as several MLAs considered close to Amarinder Singh were today conspicuous by their absence in a meeting called by Congress general secretary Shakeel Ahmed in connection with the next month's Dhuri assembly bypoll.
The meeting was called at the residence of Dhuri's former MLA Gaganjeet Singh Barnala, whose son Simar Partap Singh Barnala is contesting the Dhuri by-election on Congress symbol.
The meeting of the party MLAs and MPs from the state had been summoned by Ahmed, who is party's Punjab affairs in-charge, to draw the strategy for the next month's bypoll to ensure that Congress puts up a united fight as differences have cropped up between Amarinder Singh and his bete noire PPCC president Partap Singh Bajwa, party sources said.

All the three MLAs of Barnala district under Sangrur Lok Sabha seat -- Kewal Singh Dhillon, Mohd Sadique and Harchand Kaur-- did not attend the meeting.
When Ahmed's attention was drawn towards absentees that also included MLA Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi, he said that he would soon turn up for campaigning.
When told about the reports that the root cause of factionalism was the result of appointment of Vijay Inder Singla overriding Rana Sodhi as election-incharge for the Dhuri assembly bypolls, Ahmed told reporters that Sodhi is overall in-charge and Singla being local was appointed as local in-charge.
Factionalism in Punjab Congress yesterday resurfaced as senior party MP Amarinder Singh accused PCC chief Pratap Singh Bajwa of trying to create "dual power centres" for the by-election campaign.

Amarinder, Congress's Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha, had strongly disapproved Bajwa's "attempts to create dual power centres for Dhuri Assembly bye-election campaign" by nominating a separate election in-charge even though PCC vice president and MLA Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi had already been assigned the task.