Ending the day-long suspense, the Congress high command named Charanjit Singh Channi, the Technical Education Minister in Amarinder Singh Cabinet, as the new Chief Minister of Punjab on Sunday. The Congress Legislative Party has accepted this suggestion of the party high command. Channi and the new Cabinet will take oath on Monday.

‘Popular face’

Channi, a Congress MLA from Rupnagar district, is known as the Dalit face of the party. By selecting him as the CLP leader, the Congress is also reaching out to the 30 per cent strong Dalit vote base in the State ahead of the coming Assembly elections. The 49-year-old Channi has been in the good books of both the high command and the Amarinder Singh camp.

Channi and other senior leaders such as Navjot Singh Sidhu and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa met Governor Banwarilal Purohit to stake his claim to form the Cabinet. By making Channi as the successor to Amrinder, the high command is also trying to placate him. Channi has also served briefly as the Opposition leader of the State Assembly during the tenure of Prakash Singh Badal.

“We have presented our stance, unanimously supported by party MLAs, before the Governor. Oath taking ceremony will take place at 11 am tomorrow,” Channi told reporters after the meeting.

Channi is a post graduate in business administration and is working on his PhD from Punjab University. He started as a municipal councillor in Kharar Municipality and was elected as an MLA in 2007 and subsequently in 2012 and 2017.

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Twitter: Congratulations to Channi for the new responsibility. We must continue to fulfill the promises made to the people of Punjab. Their trust is of paramount importance.

“It gives me immense pleasure to announce that Charanjit Singh Channi has been unanimously elected as the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party of Punjab,” said AICC general secretary Harish Rawat after the CLP meeting.

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