Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh is the undisputed leader of the Congress in the state but there is also a need to have a second rung leadership ready, a three-member panel has said in its report to party chief Sonia Gandhi. 

The panel, comprising Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress general secretary in-charge of Punjab Harish Rawat and senior leader JP Agarwal, submitted its report to Gandhi on Thursday after over a two-week of deliberations that included a presentation by the Chief Minister and meetings with several leaders. 

The committee also suggested that all leaders, including Navjot Singh Sidhu, should be suitably accommodated in the government and the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) to be completely overhauled.

The Congress President will now take a call on Sidhu's future role in the government or the party.

Apart from a new state chief, it said all election-related committees should be immediately formed to prepare for the assembly elections that are due in seven months. 

The panel recommended the formation of a committee for better coordination between the government and the party and also to ensure that the grievances of all legislators are addressed. 

Many legislators had complained about the inaccessibility of the Chief Minister and flagged concerns over their inability to get their constituency-related works done and they could face the backlash of the voters in the upcoming elections. 

The committee for smooth coordination between the government and legislators will comprise of some lawmakers and few ministers. 

Amarinder Singh had told panel last week it would not be feasible to have a Jat Sikh as the party chief arguing that any such move would antagonise the Hindu community.

Virtually scuttling Sidhu's chances, he argued that both the Chief Minister and the state Congress president cannot be from the same community. 

At present, Sunil Jakhar, a Hindu Jat, is the Punjab Congress chief. 

As far as the deputy chief minister's post for Sidhu, Amarinder Singh called for a balance between the Jat Sikhs and the Hindus. 

He said if Sidhu is made deputy chief minister then the party should also have a Dalit as another deputy chief minister.