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Rahul Gandhi says Charanjit Channi is likely CM: 10 facts

February 6, 2022
Bharat Times

Punjab Election 2022: Charanjit Singh Channi to be Congress’s Chief Ministerial Candidate for Punjab

New Delhi:
Charanjit Singh Channi will be the Congress’s chief ministerial candidate for Punjab, Rahul Gandhi announced today in another attempt to restore peace in his state unit, days ahead of the state elections, with the party seeking a second term in power.

Here are the top 10 points of this big story:

  1. Punjab’s chief ministerial face, Mr. Gandhi said, is not his decision. “I have not decided about it. I asked this to the people of Punjab, youth, working committee members… I may have opinion but your opinion is more important than me… Punjabis told us that we should have a Need a person who can understand the poor”

  2. Mr Gandhi’s announcement came after a telepole where people were asked to choose between him and Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi. Like Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party, the move made many mockery of the Congress.

  3. The telepole and subsequent announcement were the result of an ongoing feud between Chief Minister and state party chief Navjot Sidhu, who has made his ambitions clear since joining the Congress from the BJP ahead of the state elections in 2017.

  4. Clarifying that he had a coercive hand in the matter, Rahul Gandhi announced at a public meeting on 27 January: “Normally, we do not declare the chief minister’s face, but if Congress workers want, we will have one. Will choose the face too. But we will take advice from Congress workers. They will decide.”

  5. Even after his announcement, Mr. Sidhu continued his attacks on Mr. Channi. The last instance was on Friday, when, citing the raid on a relative of the chief minister, he said the party should choose a person “honest and with a clean track record”. He said that any chief minister’s choice should have the support of at least 60 MLAs.

  6. Sidhu came closest to his goal last year when Captain Amarinder Singh resigned as chief minister after a year-long struggle with a group of rebel MLAs led by Sidhu.

  7. But the party chose Charanjit Singh Channi, a leader of the Scheduled Caste community, who, despite keeping a low profile, made it clear that he was no cipher.

  8. Mr Channi was nominated from two assembly constituencies, leading to speculation that the party would favor him.

  9. Earlier today, Mr Sidhu tweeted saying that everyone will “follow” Rahul Gandhi’s decision. “Nothing great has been achieved without decision… Heartfelt welcome to our pioneer Prakash Rahul ji who came to give clarity to Punjab… Everyone will follow his decision!!!” Read his post.

  10. The Congress move comes on a day when the country lost its iconic artiste Lata Mangeshkar, who ruled the silver screen for more than seven decades. The BJP canceled the Prime Minister’s virtual rally for Goa and the launch of its manifesto in Uttar Pradesh out of respect.

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