A day after Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu quit as party unit chief in Punjab, he showered praises on the newly sworn-in Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Bhagwant Mann for "unfurling a new anti-Mafia era" in the state.
Sidhu took to Twitter to extend greetings to Mann, a day after he assumed the office of the Chief Minister, and expressed hope of Punjab's revival on the path of "pro-people policies."
"The happiest man is the one from whom no one expects ... Bhagwant Mann unfurls a new anti-Mafia era in Punjab with a mountain of expectations ...hope he rises to the occasion, brings back Punjab on the revival path with pro-people policies ... best always," Sidhu tweeted.
Sidhu on Wednesday resigned from the post of the state unit chief of Congress after the party's interim president Sonia Gandhi sought the resignations of the heads of the five losing states to pave way for the reorganization of the Pradesh Congress Committees (PCC).
"As desired by the Congress president I have sent my resignation," Sidhu said in a tweet as he posted the one-line resignation letter.
Earlier as well, Sidhu had hailed the AAP for coming to power after Congress faced drubbing in state polls.
Sidhu had said "you reap what you sow" while noting there is a need to sow new seeds and 'chintan' and not 'chinta' should be done.
Referring to AAP's landslide victory in Punjab, he said "people have voted for change".
Sidhu, who was seen having Chief Ministerial ambitions, often slammed Channi on governance issues. He had said he is "not going into a deep thought of whether people accepted Channi's face as CM candidate or not".
Sidhu was appointed as the president of the Punjab Congress on July 23 last year following months of turmoil in the state Congress unit. He was apparently appointed against the wishes of then Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh.
Former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had stepped down in September last year from the post following months of infighting with Sidhu and floated his own party 'Punjab Lok Congress' ahead of the Assembly polls.
Punjab witnessed a multi-cornered contest with key players being Congress, AAP, Shiromani Akali Dal-Bahujan Samaj Party alliance, and the coalition of Bharatiya Janata Party-Amarinder Singh's Punjab Lok Congress and SAD (Sanyukt) led by SS Dhindsa.
The AAP won a landslide mandate in the Punjab Assembly polls winning 92 seats in the 117-member legislative assembly.
Congress got 18 seats, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won two seats, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) three seats and Bahujan Samaj Party one seat.
( With inputs from ANI )
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