The Congress will contest the Punjab Assembly elections under the leadership of Amarinder Singh

- State party in-charge Harish Rawat's announcement

- Clarification made by the party on the second day after some Congress leaders demanded the removal of Singh

New Delhi: The Congress party has backed Amarinder Singh, saying the party will contest the next elections under his leadership. State Congress in-charge Harish Rawat has also confirmed this. The announcement comes just days after some Congress leaders demanded his removal.

"We will contest the 206th Punjab Assembly elections under the leadership of Captain Amarinder Singh," Rawat said. Tensions between Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Pradesh Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu escalated when four cabinet ministers and several party MLAs demanded the removal of the chief minister, saying he had failed to deliver on key election promises.

Sidhu, on the other hand, was also targeted by a group of Punjab ministers and MLAs close to Chief Minister Singh. Strict action has been demanded against two of Sidhu's advisers for their anti-national remarks and warned that such statements could cause huge damage to the Congress in the six-month-old Punjab Assembly elections.

Earlier, Amarinder Singh had asked Sidhu to restrain his advisers and termed his remarks as inappropriate. Congress MP Manish Tewari, on the other hand, on Monday questioned whether it was appropriate to keep such people in the party.

It may be mentioned that four ministers Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Charanjit Singh Channi and 6 MLAs had demanded the removal of Amarinder Singh and had also convened a meeting in this regard.

The appointment of Sidhu as Punjab Congress president has dispelled the party's expectation of ending the party's infighting in the state. Siddha's appointment has intensified the infighting among party leaders in the state.