Charanjit Singh Channi will become the next chief minister of Punjab, the Congress party announced on Sunday.
Senior Congess leader Harish Rawat tweeted Channi was unanimously elected as the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party of Punjab.
It gives me immense pleasure to announce that Sh. #CharanjitSinghChanni has been unanimously elected as the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party of Punjab.@INCIndia@RahulGandhi@INCPunjabpic.twitter.com/iboTOvavPd
— Harish Rawat (@harishrawatcmuk) September 19, 2021
Channi, the Chamkaur Sahib MLA, will become Punjab's first Dalit chief minister.
"My best wishes to Charanjit Singh Channi. I hope he’s able to keep the border state of Punjab safe and protect our people from the growing security threat from across the border", Amarinder Singh said.
Who is he?
The 47-year-old Channi, a Punjab-based Congressman, serves as the state Minister of Technical Education and Industrial Training. He was the Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha from 2015 to 2016. He succeeded Sunil Jakhar and had succeeded HS Phoolka. He is a member of the Ramdasia Sikh community and was appointed as a cabinet minister in Amarinder Singh’s cabinet in Punjab on 16 March, 2017.
He was previously Municipal Councilor for three terms and then later became the President of Municipal Council Kharar for two terms. He was elected to the Punjab Vidhan Sabha for the first time in 2007.
Announcment after day of speculation
The development comes after much speculation with the names of former Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar, current state unit president Navjot Singh Sidhu, Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa doing the rounds for the top post in Punjab.
As per News18, supporters of Randhawa on Sunday reached outside his residence in Punjab's Gurdaspur and shouted slogans in his favour.
Earlier on Sunday, reports of Randhawa being made chief minister of Punjab emerged, but sources said discussions were ongoing at the New Delhi residence of Rahul Gandhi with Ambika Soni and no final decision had been taken.
Randhawa was a member of the outgoing cabinet headed by Amarinder Singh. The 62-year-old was heading the ministries of jails and cooperation. Randhawa earlier told News18 that he was not greedy for any posts and that the final decision will lie with Congress high command.
When the media persons had asked that can it be assumed that they were talking to the future chief minister, Randhawa quipped, " You are talking to a Congressman". In a veiled dig at Amarinder Singh, he then added, "A chief minister remains (in his post) only till the time when his party, people of the state stand by him".
"Not mine, don't know who's but it will be done for sure," Randhawa told news agency ANI, on being asked whether he will be taking oath as the Punjab chief minister today.
Asked how soon can one expect the name of the new CLP leader to be announced, Randhawa said, "We have authorised Congress president in this regard." He said the party senior leadership has not only to talk to the MLAs, but other stalwarts too before finalizing the name.
Asked why so much time is being taken to announce the CLP leader, he said, "If you have to make a village sarpanch, sometimes it takes 20 days to decide". However, he assured the new CLP leader's name will be announced later in the day.
On Amarinder saying he felt humiliated, Randhawa replied, "So far, the BJP has changed five chief ministers. And in the Congress too, some chief ministers have been changed. In Congress, Amarinder Singh has a maximum tenure of nine-and-half years as chief minister. The honour he got, I think no other chief minister got so much."
To a question over what caused differences with Amarinder, he said, "When we felt that promises which were made… and elections were near and the Congress high-command and we too felt worried".
Randhawa had earlier this year joined hands with Navjot Singh Sidhu, and had targeted his own government over alleged failure to fulfil the promises made in the run-up to the 2017 polls including those related to the sacrilege incidents (in 2015). On Amarinder'd outbursts against Sidhu after he resigned as chief minister, Randhawa termed it as "unfortunate" that a senior leader had used such words.
"I think it is unfortunate that such words have been used against Punjab Congress chief by a senior leader," he said. "Even when there were differences with Amarinder Singh since April 26, but you must have never heard me speak any word against him in a disrespectful manner," said Randhawa. "Even today, I consider him like a father," said the Jails and Cooperation minister in the outgoing cabinet.
"...Till the time we (Amarinder Singh and Randhawa) were together, you saw that I was very close to him. When he hurt me, then I followed my conscience," Randhawa said.
As per NDTV, Soni was apparently asked to take over the job but she denied stating that only a person from the Sikh community should head the state government. "I've declined the offer (to be the next Punjab CM). Party's exercise is going on in Chandigarh with the general secretary and observers are taking views of all MLAs. I believe Punjab CM face should be a Sikh," Soni told ANI.
On Saturday, Congress veteran Captain Amarinder Singh resigned as chief minister of Punjab with less than five months to go for the Assembly polls after a bruising power struggle with state party chief Navjot Singh Sidhu and had said that he felt "humiliated" over the way the party handled the protracted crisis.
The 79-year-old Amarinder, one of the Congress' powerful regional satraps, had put in his papers after speaking to the Congress president and shortly before a crucial meeting of the CLP here on Saturday evening. He had later launched a no-holds-barred attack against Sidhu, describing his bete noire, a cricketer-turned-politician, as a "total disaster".
With inputs from agencies
September 19, 2021 at 06:40PM
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