Curtains Down For Captain! Sunil Jakhar Frontrunner For New Punjab CM Post - All You Need To Know

Jakhar was elected consecutively thrice (2002-2017) from the Abohar constituency in the Punjab Assembly elections.

Former Punjab Congress President and former MP Sunil Jakhar. (File Photo/ AFP)

Chandigarh: With Captain Amarinder Singh resigning as the chief minister ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections next year, Congress leader Sunil Jakhar is said to be the frontrunner for the top post.

Captain Amarinder Singh submitted his resignation to Governor Banwarilal Purohit at the Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh.

"This has happened for the third time in two months. They called MLAs to Delhi twice and now this CLP meet. I feel humiliated and thus I have decided to leave the CM post. They (party high-command) can appoint anyone they have confidence in," he said after submitting his resignation. 

Soon after Singh’s resignation, Jakhar lauded Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s “bold leadership decision" to resolve the Punjab Congress imbroglio.

“Kudos to Sh @RahulGandhi for adopting Alexandrian solution to this  punjabi version of Gordian knot. Surprisingly, this bold leadership decision to resolve Punjab Congress imbroglio has not only enthralled congress workers but has sent shudders down the spines of Akalis,” he tweeted.

Who is Sunil Jakhar?

67-year-old Jakhar was earlier the Punjab Congress Committee chief. Jakhar was elected consecutively thrice (2002-2017) from the Abohar constituency in the Punjab Assembly elections.

Earlier in 2017, Jakhar won the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha by-poll by a huge margin. Polling was held post the demise of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and sitting Gurdaspur MP Vinod Khanna.

He resigned as the Punjab Congress chief after losing the Gurdaspur seat to actor-turned-politician Sunny Deol of the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Jakhar lost to Deol despite his party winning the majority eight seats of the 13 in the state.

Earlier in the 2014 general elections, Jakhar lost from the Ferozepur Lok Sabha constituency in Punjab.

His father Balram Jakhar, who breathed his last earlier in 2016, had the rare distinction of being the Lok Sabha speaker for two successive terms from 1980 to 1989.

Balram Jakhar, once the Jat face of the Congress, had a huge standing among the Jat peasantry and won numerous elections.

Congress for non-Sikh face as Punjab CM:

The decision to hand over the top post to Jakhar assumes significance as the Congress, according to sources, wants to project a non-Sikh face as the chief minister ahead of the assembly polls in view of the growing popularity of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab.  

Sources say that the party wants a Sikh - Navjot Singh Sidhu as state party chief - and non-Sikh combination in the polls, IANS reported.

The ongoing political developments in Congress-ruled Punjab come just four months ahead of the assembly elections.