New Delhi: Congress leader Charanjit Singh Channi has been unanimously elected as the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party of Punjab and will be sworn in as the new Chief Minister after Capt Amarinder Singh's resignation.
"It gives me immense pleasure to announce that Sh. Charanjit Singh Channi has been unanimously elected as the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party of Punjab," Punjab affairs in-charge Harish Rawat wrote.
This surprise announcement comes after it was reported that the All India Congress Committee (AICC) proposed the name of Sukhjinder Randhawa for the post of CM following a discussion with Punjab MLAs.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi participated in the meeting chaired by party president Sonia Gandhi to decide on the name. The interim president was on Saturday authorised by Congress Legislative Party to take the final call.
Charanjit Singh Channi, who is the MLA from the Chamkaur Sahib Assembly Constituency, served as Minister of Technical Educational & industrial Training in the Punjab government.
He had also previously served as the leader of opposition in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha from 2015 to 2016.
Charanjit Channi belongs to the Ramdasia Sikh community and his appointment as Punjab Chief Minister is being seen as an important move by the Congress party ahead of the crucial assembly elections slated to happen in early 2022.
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Capt Amarinder Singh’s Resignation
The Punjab Congress crisis took a dramatic turn on Saturday as Congress veteran Capt Amarinder Singh resigned as the chief minister of Punjab, less than five months ahead of the crucial Assembly polls. He said that he felt "humiliated" over the way the party handled the protracted crisis.
When asked about Amarinder Singh’s remarks on feeling humiliated, Sukhjinder Randhawa replied: "So far, the BJP has changed five chief ministers. And in the Congress too, some chief ministers have been changed. In Congress, Amarinder Singh has the maximum tenure of nine-and-half years as chief minister. The honour he got, I think no other chief minister got so much", PTI reported.
Earlier, in an important revelation, Congress MP Ambika Soni said that she declined the offer to be the next Punjab CM as she believes the chief minister face should be a Sikh.
Besides Randhawa, the names of former Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar, the party's current state unit president Navjot Singh Sidhu, Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa were doing the rounds for those being considered to be Capt Amarinder’s successor.
Meanwhile, Capt Amarinder Singh has congratulated his successor Charanjit Singh Channi. The response comes after he vehemently opposed Navjot Sidhu’s name for the top post, terming him as a “total disaster”, a concern for “national security” raking up his alleged close connections with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa.
"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 in a reference to his remarks against Sidhu. The statement was shared by his media advisor.
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi also congratulated Channi as he wrote, "Congratulations to Shri Charanjit Singh Channi Ji for the new responsibility. We must continue to fulfill the promises made to the people of Punjab. Their trust is of paramount importance."
Channi met the Punjab Governor and staked claim to form the government. Harish Rawat and the party's central observers Ajay Maken and Harish Chaudhary accompanied him, news agency PTI reported.
The oath-taking ceremony of the new Punjab Chief Minister will take place on Monday at 11 AM.
"We have presented our stance, unanimously supported by party MLAs, before the Governor. Oath taking ceremony to take place at 11 am tomorrow," Punjab CM-designate Charanjit Singh Channi said after meeting the state governor.