Punjab: Charanjit Singh Channi, a Dalit face of the Congress, would be the next chief minister of Punjab, Congress leader Harish Rawat said on Twitter, putting an end to a day of speculation about the vital office. Harish Rawat tweeted, “It gives me immense pleasure to announce that Shri Charanjit Singh Channi has been unanimously elected as the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party of Punjab.”
He would not be seeing Governor Banwarilal Purohit at Raj Bhawan. At Raj Bhawan, Navjot Sidhu has also come. All Congress MLAs had already suggested Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa as the future Punjab chief minister, and their decision had been transmitted to the party high leadership, MLA Pritam Kotbhai stated today. The judgement was also approved by the AICC.
The announcement comes after a tense day of debates and comes as a surprise, as Congress MLAs had previously stated that Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa will be the next chief minister. According to reports, he also wanted the governor’s appointment. But it did not go down well with Navjot Sidhu. And finally, the name of Charanjit Singh Channi was sealed. Congress leader Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said after the announcement, “It’s a high command’s decision…, I welcome it. Channi is like my younger brother…I am not at all disappointed.”