An opinion column has argued that Punjab Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu is his own worst enemy, and that unless he changes course his political career may end the way his cricket career did, out hit wicket. The piece was written after Sidhu tweeted his resignation as a minister to Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

The column’s case

The writer contends that Sidhu has become a victim of his ambition, pride and a habit of sulking at the slightest provocation. In cricket he faced an opposing team, the column says, while in politics he has become his own opposition.

It notes that after he was moved from the local bodies ministry to the power ministry, Sidhu was not seen for more than four weeks, apart from a visit to Vaishno Devi, before he announced his resignation. By refusing to take up the new portfolio, the column argues, he came across as a spoilt child denied his favourite seat.

A pattern, according to the writer

• When the AAP was rising in Punjab, Sidhu worked with Arvind Kejriwal for a while but turned into a harsh critic after the party would not promise him the chief minister’s post.
• He has repeatedly defied Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, the column says, for instance by attending Imran Khan’s inauguration in Pakistan and hugging Pakistani generals.
• As a cricketer, he walked out mid-way through India’s 1996 tour of England after falling out with captain Mohammad Azharuddin, a decision the writer says his career never recovered from.
• After the 1987 World Cup, a rash quarrel with a man who subsequently died in hospital left him fighting charges of culpable homicide for three decades.

The column argues that Amarinder Singh has a large political base and that the Congress will not risk antagonising him, so Sidhu would be wise to bide his time. It ends by urging him to reflect on these episodes before his political innings is cut short.

Context

Amarinder Singh became Chief Minister after the 2017 Punjab election, in which the Congress won 77 of 117 seats.

See also: Indian National Congress, Punjab MLAs.

Originally published on 15 July 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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