Chandigarh :With only a year left for the 2017 Punjab Assembly polls, the Congress today handed over the mantleof the state unit to former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, whohas twice served in the post earlier.

Capt Amarinder calls on Rahul

A day after being appointed Punjab Congress president, Capt Amarinder Singh called on party vice-president Rahul Gandhi to thank him for the move which is being widely hailed across state unit, districts and blocks.Signalling the start of a new era in the Congress, Rahul Gandhi hugged Capt warmly, asking him to galvanise the party to defeat the ruling Akali Dal and BJP combine in the state.Rahul’s hug also settled once and for long the long held perception that his relationship with Capt was troubled or that he preferred outgoing state Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa more.Capt Amarinder’s gesture of calling on Rahul after his appointment is also a significant indicator of Rahul’s growing influence in the party headed by his mother Sonia Gandhi.Earlier in the day, Capt called up Sonia to thank him for listening to the voice of Punjab Congress and trusting him to lead the party into the crucial 2017 Punjab elections.Capt’s meeting with Rahul lasted about half an hour, and also signalled the fact that Congress veterans will have major roles under Rahul, contrary to perceptions that he would ease out the elders after rising in party hierarchy.All eyes were on Rahul and his decision in Punjab to see if he would place his faith in an old warhorse like Capt or bring in someone young after Bajwa failed to hold the party together.