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Chandigarh: Forty-eight-year-old Charanjit Singh Channi, who became MLA thrice by setting up a tent in Kharar, will be the first Dalit Sikh to become the Chief Minister of Punjab.
Channi was among four cabinet ministers who led the protests that led to Captain Amarinder Singh’s resignation as chief minister.
On a tumultuous day in Chandigarh, Channi was vying for the deputy CM’s post, but was vying for top president after a tussle between cabinet minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, who was considered the frontrunner, and state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu. The name was decided. .
Randhawa’s name was finalized in the afternoon, but after strong opposition from Sidhu, the party agreed to install a Dalit Sikh as CM, and Channi’s name was confirmed. He is set to take oath at 11 am on Monday, and is likely to have two deputy CMs in his cabinet.
Channi, who belongs to the Ramdassia Sikh community, was the Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Legislative Assembly from 2015 to 2016. He was one of the younger members of Amarinder Singh’s cabinet but has been critical of the outgoing CM for some time. As the Minister of Technical Education, Channi has been consistently opposed to interference by the CMO in his work. He has opposed the creation of private universities in the state, but most of his objections have been ignored.
Read also: ‘Disgraced thrice in last 2 months’ – Amarinder resigns as Punjab CM
self educated leader
Channi, an MLA from Chamkaur Sahib constituency in Rupnagar district, is known to educate himself. A Bachelor of Laws from Panjab University, Chandigarh and MBA from Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar, Channi completed her Master’s degree in Political Science while Leader of the Opposition, and is currently pursuing her PhD.
He became an independent MLA for the first time in 2007, when the Congress refused him a ticket. He won again in 2012, this time on a Congress ticket and again in 2017.
Soft-spoken and polite, Channi belongs to a lower middle class family of Makrona Kalan village in Chamkaur Sahib. His family moved to Malaysia in search of work, but returned to Kharar and started a tent house in which he worked as a boy who helped set up the tents.
He completed his matriculation in Kharar and even excelled in sports. His father Harsa Singh became the sarpanch of the village and Channi followed him into politics.
He became involved in municipal politics in Kharar and remained a councilor for three terms before becoming the chairman of the city council for two terms.
As a cabinet minister in the Amarinder Singh government, Channi has been at the forefront of organizing employment generation (along with technical education and science and technology). job fair (job fairs) across the state for the past few years to fulfill the party’s election promise.
His brother Dr Manohar Singh is a medical specialist working in the Government of Punjab. Another brother, Sukhwant Singh Sukhi, contested the Kharar Municipal Council elections in February this year and lost by 12 votes.
inappropriate text messaging
In 2018, Channi got into trouble with a woman IAS officer of Punjab cadre. complained that he had sent her inappropriate messages.
Amidst the controversy, Channi remained silent. However, it was alleged that he was brought down at one place while continuously targeting the CM.
(Edited by Shreyas Sharma)
(This article has been updated to correct Charanjit Singh Channi’s age to 58 years.)
Read also: Amarinder’s 5 Vs Sidhu’s 5 – Key Players Of Punjab Congress Fight For Supremacy
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