Punjab BJP president Kamal Sharma has said that Congress is no more a player in Punjab politics. In a statement issued after Congress officially announced that party would not be contesting the Khadoor Sahib Bye-Election, Shri Sharma said, "By running away from the crucial poll, the Congress has accepted that party's days are numbered in Punjab and the day is not far away when the Congress would be completely decimated in this border state." Launching a scathing attack on the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) President Capt. Amarinder Singh, the BJP State Chief said, "Today's development is an indicator that Amarinder has no control over the Punjab Congress. Today, Congress dissident S. Bhupinder Singh Bittu has filed his nomination papers, as an independent from Khadoor Sahib.
This clearly reflects that Amarinder has zero command over Punjab Congress. Under his leadership, the Congress party would taste a big defeat, third in a row, in the Punjab elections slated to be held early next year." He further said that earlier, during the parliamentary polls, many Congress stalwarts, including former Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Shri Manish Tewari, had opted out of polls on frivolous grounds. "Now again, sensing a huge defeat, Congress has withdrawn from the election, necessitated after the resignation of MLA S.Ramanjit Singh Sikki. The development makes it amply clear the hollowness of Congress. The decision taken by Congress has in itself given a big positive headstart to the SAD-BJP ahead of the 2017 assembly polls", asserted the BJP State President.