The cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu has started calling the shots soon after the beginning of his new inning as the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president.

In a close huddle with PPCC’s newly-appointed four working presidents besides the chairman and heads of party’s frontal organizations or various cells or morchas in the refurbished Punjab Congress Bhawan, Sidhu discussed ways and means to strengthen the party ahead of the ensuing 2022 polls in his first meeting as PPCC chief.

Wasting not much time after taking over the charge of his new assignment on Friday, Sidhu on Monday made it clear that he meant business by holding held a series of meetings with four working presidents — Kuljit Singh Nagra, Sangat Singh Gilzian, Sukhwinder Singh Danny, and Pawan Goel; followed by meetings with the representatives of different fronts of the party’s state unit.

Sidhu met representatives of Youth Congress, National Student Union of India (NSUI), SC Cell, BC Cell, and Legal Cell; and heard their views, mainly aimed at strengthening the party besides resolving the intra-party issues.

A senior Congress leader, while talking with The Pioneer, maintained that though it was the first meeting of the new PPCC president who met the office bearers of various cells and fronts, but it was also significant as Sidhu held serious discussions and listened to the grievances and problems also.

As per information available, Sidhu first held a detailed meeting with the four working presidents and discussed various aspects. The meeting assumes significance as these working presidents would actually be the party’s face that would hold the fort at the grassroots level.

Also, several changes in the organizational structure were also expected in the near future with Sidhu set to build his new team, and make appointments of district heads, keeping in mind the 2022 polls.

Even as Sidhu maintained distance with the media, one of the working presidents Danny said that the agenda of the meeting was to further strengthen the party in the State.

Sidhu, after his elevation to the party’s apex post, has all along been maintaining that implementation of the party high command’s 18-point agenda was his key responsibility.

Notably, the Congress high command has prepared an 18-point agenda, after listening to the grievances of the party leaders, including Ministers, MPs, MLAs, while handing over the same to the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh to implement it ahead of 2022 polls. It has been learnt that the list of these issues, which mainly include the issues of justice in sacrilege cases, power tariff, drugs, and bureaucratic red-tape, among others, has also been handed over to Sidhu to ensure its implementation.