After building influence using a powerful national post and strengthening his Dalit base, Raj Kumar Verka also earned a reputation as a sharp internal fighter. His open tussles with Navjot Singh Sidhu, repeated appeals to the high command to rein him in, and his aggressive push to have Sunil Jakhar expelled from the Congress exposed deep factional cracks. Ironically, it was Jakhar’s later rise in the BJP that weakened Verka’s own space there, before he returned to the Congress, calling it “home.” This trail of clashes, exits, and returns has left voters uneasy. Is Verka a fearless power-broker who takes on rivals head-on or a serial turncoat whose fights and switches show ambition outweighing allegiance ?

Opinion