Charanjit Singh Channi has been named the successor of Amarinder Singh as the new Chief Minister of Punjab. Charanjit Channi, the Dalit face of Congress party, was unanimously elected the leader of the Congress Legislature Party in Punjab on Sunday, September 19, and will be the next Chief Minister. This comes a day after Amarinder Singh resigned following a bitter power tussle in the Congress party.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Harish Rawat said in a tweet, “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." He is likely to take oath as the new Chief Minister of Punjab at 11 am on Monday, September 20.
Charanjit Channi (58), the Technical Education and Industrial Training Minister in the outgoing Amarinder Singh cabinet, comes from the Dalit community. His selection assumes significance as the dissension-riven Congress faces the Assembly polls in less than five months. He is the MLA from the Chamkaur Sahib Assembly constituency.
The BJP had earlier announced that if voted to power in Punjab, it will make a Dalit the chief minister, while the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which is fighting the coming polls in alliance with the BSP, had said that its Deputy Chief Minister would be from the Dalit community.
Charanjit Channi met the Punjab Governor and staked a claim to form the government, sources said, adding that Rawat and the party's central observers, Ajay Maken and Harish Chaudhary, accompanied him.
Rawat, Maken and Harish Chaudhary, who have been camping at a hotel in Chandigarh, held discussions with the MLAs and took their feedback.
Earlier, senior Congress leader Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa was said to be the frontrunner for the post. However, after Charanjit Channi's name was announced, Randhawa said, "I welcome the decision of the party high command."
Another senior leader, Brahm Mohindra, too, welcomed the election of Channi, who is considered close to state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu.
Early in the day, hectic talks were held to finalise the name of new leader of the CLP, a day after Amarinder Singh resigned as the Chief Minister amid a bitter power tussle with Sidhu.
Amarinder Singh said he hopes that Channi is able to keep the border state of Punjab safe. "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," he said.
Incidentally, Charanjit Singh was accused of sexual misconduct in 2018, after he allegedly sent a lewd message to an IAS officer.