Projecting Channi as the chief ministerial candidate was imposed on the Congress, but it is the right decision.
if the height of Charanjit Singh Channi as Chief Minister in September 2021 An accidental result of internal rivalry in the Congress, the party’s announcement that it would continue in the post if it wins the assembly elections was a bold gamble. Congress has been reticent in projecting a singular leader in any state, and has often argued that it believes in collective leadership. CM candidate announcementThis, though not unprecedented, is rare for the Congress, and requires a uniquely volatile social dynamic in Punjab at the moment. Strong social alliances seem to be smoldering in the state, and the Congress is trying to tie together a viable electoral majority with a Dalit face as its pivot. The Scheduled Caste community constitutes about 32% of the population in Punjab, while the Jat Sikhs make up more than 20% of the population. But since 1977, the state has never seen a non-Jat Sikh chief minister – whether from the Congress party or the Shiromani Akali Dal, indicating the political dominance of the Jat Sikh community. Giani Zail Singh was the last non-Jat Sikh chief minister of Punjab between 1972–77.
The Congress has generally shied away from the politics of explicit social justice, and in that sense, it is an audacious move that will have implications for its strategy elsewhere as well. Party leader Rahul Gandhi is pursuing a more liberal caste politics, but this approach is facing opposition from within and outside the party. Dalits are not a homogeneous category in Punjab. They are divided into 39 castes, known locally as ‘Dera’ under various religions and sects. Mr. Channi belongs to the Ravidassia community of Dalits, which is a small population of the total Dalits. Whether he can inspire a larger politics of shared aspiration among all communities unseen in the state’s traditional power-sharing model is an open question, but Mr. Channi deserves the party’s support. He hasn’t got enough time to be judged for his track record as chief minister, but Mr Channi is a good storyteller and has a good story – which are essential ingredients for any successful politics. His prominence would completely set off the reactions of Jat Sikhs and upper caste Hindus, a large section of whom have been with the Congress. The Congress’s opponents – the Shiromani Akali Dal-BSP alliance, the BJP-led alliance and the Aam Aadmi Party – will all try to stir up resentment among these communities to corner the Congress. The Congress is accused of doing caste politics by promoting a Dalit, and it is noteworthy that the rotation of power among Jat Sikhs over the decades has rarely raised such concerns. Perhaps this in itself is proof that Mr. Channi deserved this opportunity.
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