Congress leader and Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu reportedly declared that he will quit politics if party president Rahul Gandhi loses from Amethi.
The Punjab minister has in the past hailed Gandhi as the “man of the match and series” following Congress’ victory in the 2018 assembly elections.
Gandhi is a sitting MP from Amethi but for the first time in his political career has selected a second seat to contest from – Wayanad in Kerala.
The 48-year-old Gandhi faces a tough fight from BJP’s Smriti Irani in Amethi.
Sidhu, a cricketer-turned-politician, also said that people of the country should learn nationalism from UPA chairperson and the sitting MP from Rae Bareli Sonia Gandhi.
He credited her with ensuring that the Congress remains at the Centre for 10 years from 2004 to 2014.
A former BJP leader, Sidhu also took a swipe at the saffron party over its claim that the Congress did not do any development work in the country in the last 70 years.
Sidhu also took a jibe at BJP saying that only those who remain with the party are considered nationalists.
Sidhu was on 22 April banned by the ECI from campaigning for 72 hours for violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by appealing to Muslims in Bihar’s Katihar to unite against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
At a rally on 16 April, Sidhu had claimed that the BJP is trying to divide the Muslims.