Chandigarh: Dalit leader Charanjit Singh Channi and not his senior colleague SS Randhawa, will be the new chief minister of Punjab. In a last-minute decision, fortunes turned in favour of Channi – a masterstroke by the High Command keeping in mind the polls due next year. Channi will be sworn in tomorrow at 11 am.
Incidentally, Dalits comprise around 33 per cent of Punjab’s overall population. Channi will be the first from the Dalit community to bag the coveted post.
“It gives me immense pleasure to announce that Sh. #CharanjitSinghChanni has been unanimously elected as the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party of [email protected] @RahulGandhi @INCPunjab,” Congress general-secretary in charge of Punjab, Harish Rawat tweeted.
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 @INCPunjab pic.twitter.com/iboTOvavPd
— Harish Rawat (@harishrawatcmuk) September 19, 2021
Earlier it was speculated that Randhawa would be picked as Amarinder Singh’s successor, but the final decision was taken by the Congress High Command which favoured Channi (also supported by Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu), a minister in the erstwhile cabinet of Singh.
