Navjot Sidhu wins Amritsar seat, likely to get key ministerial position

Chandigarh, March 11 (IANS) Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu could well be on the path to join the new Congress government in Punjab in an "important position", Congress party sources said here on Saturday.

Sidhu, who won the assembly election from the Amritsar-east constituency, could even be the deputy chief minister in the government which will be headed by Congress leader Amarinder Singh.

The chirpy Sidhu won the seat by a margin of 42,409 votes against his BJP and AAP rivals.

Sidhu, who had joined the Congress just days ahead of the February 4 assembly polls in the state, was a star campaigner for the Congress along with Amarinder Singh.

A three-time former MP from Amritsar Lok Sabha seat, Sidhu had left the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in September last year. He hobnobbed with the AAP first and the Congress but ended up setting up his own political front ‘Avaaz-e-Punjab’.

The front remained a non-starter and Sidhu finally joined the Congress around mid-January this year.

On Saturday, after the massive Congress victory, Amarinder remained non-committal on having Sidhu as the Deputy Chief Minister in the next Congress government in the state.

"That will be decided by the Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi. All ministers will be decided by the party leadership," Amarinder said.