Navjot Kaur Sidhu's recent expulsion from the Congress and her criticism of Rahul Gandhi have fueled rumors that her husband, Navjot Singh Sidhu, might join the BJP. The couple, previously associated with the BJP, has been vocal against the Punjab Congress leadership. This comes amid ongoing internal conflicts within the party.
Over the past two months in Punjab, former Amritsar East MLA Navjot Kaur Sidhu was suspended from the Congress in December, quit the party on January 31, and was expelled days later, as announced by All India Congress Committee general secretary Bhupesh Baghel on Friday.
While her husband, cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, remains with the Congress, she issued a sharp reaction to the announcement, referring to Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi as “Pappu,” a derogatory term used by his critics.
Navjot Kaur sparked a political furor in December by alleging that “one who gives a suitcase of Rs 500 crore” becomes the Congress’s chief minister face, adding that her husband would only return to active politics if offered the CM post. “With so much infighting, I do not feel that they will let Navjot Sidhu be promoted as there are already five CM faces, and they are hell bent on defeating the Congress,” she said at the time.
Navjot Singh maintained silence as the controversy grew, but sections of Punjab’s political circles interpret her outbursts as signals of his next moves. The Sidhu couple has openly criticized the current Punjab Congress leadership, particularly state chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, in recent months. In a social media post last month, Navjot Kaur accused Warring of corruption and internal sabotage while praising the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This has sparked speculation that the couple may return to the BJP, the party where they launched their political careers.
This is not the first intra-party conflict for the Sidhus. Ahead of the 2012 Punjab Assembly polls, Navjot Kaur joined the BJP and won Amritsar East in her debut. Her husband had won three Lok Sabha elections from Amritsar as a BJP candidate. However, she later raised allegations against the NDA government over unfair fund distribution, corruption, and failure to curb drugs. In 2014, she pushed to end the BJP-SAD alliance. By 2016, they quit the BJP and joined the Congress ahead of the 2017 elections, despite clashes with Amarinder Singh. Navjot Singh became Punjab Congress chief in 2021, leading to Amarinder's ouster as CM. In the 2022 polls, Navjot Singh lost Amritsar East. Navjot Kaur’s latest broadside suggests Navjot Singh may also be exploring options outside the Congress, where he has been inactive for a long time.
