If Sidhu is Congress' new Amritsari groom, where's his 'janj'?
Who isn't familiar with Punjabi weddings? Before the groom arrives on a bedecked horse in a big procession — called janj — at the bride's doorstep, rituals start weeks before across various venues.
Essentially, it isn't a marriage between two people, but two families. For both sides, the to-do list is often quite exhaustive.
I am sure former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu is well aware of what it takes to put together a grand Punjabi wedding.
Weddings and elections have a few things in common — they are never meaningless, how big or small they may be. In the subcontinent, they are treated pretty seriously.
And time is what is needed to build a perfect plan for this multiple-day event.
Less than 20 days before the Punjab Assembly elections, Amritsar's former MP has announced his political betrothal with the Congress party, passionately chanting "homecoming".
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| At Rahul Gandhi’s residence in Delhi on Sunday. (Credit: Twitter) |
"I am a born Congressman. This is my ghar wapsi," intonated Sidhu on January 16. "My father served the Congress for 40 years. I don't care what people have to say," he declared.
Sidhu, the former Rajya Sabha member who quit the BJP in September last year, has every right not to give a damn. But voters might also pay some careful attention to his new engagement — and the ceremony, to start with.
If I were to use the wedding metaphor again, the first two days of Sidhu's affiancing with the Congress party had no fanfare to welcome the truant groom back.
Even the day-one album was flat — just a plastic-smile photo with the new boss on Twitter!
Sidhu's Jan 16 ring-ceremony at the AICC couldn't have been duller.
The celebrity groom, if he is still as much in demand as he was some months ago, would have been surrounded by the Congress party's best men from Delhi and Punjab.
Neither Rahul Gandhi nor Amarinder Singh showed up at the AICC headquarters for a public celebration of the concord. So, it's still a mystery who would be orchestrating the electoral wedding on February 4.
If Sidhu's "janj" is finally marching up to Amritsar East next month, how much time does he have to check each entry on his "to-do" list? Has he prepared that list in the first place?
Who all will be the star guests? When and from where will he shop his designer groom wear?
Sidhu is a no-nonsense politician. He held the Amritsar borough in the Lok Sabha from 2004 to 2014.
The 53-year-old would definitely know the role meticulous planning plays in elections — as it does in Punjabi weddings.
You may be more visible on TV than your opponents because of your celebrity status, but that's no substitute for hitting the field on the right foot.
From whatever has been seen after your self-proclaimed "ghar wapsi", I am not sure you have the time and the team on your side, at least at this juncture.
But I wish you all the best for your Amritsari "janj".