Ludhiana/Chandigarh, February 6
Ending days of uncertainty, Rahul Gandhi on Sunday announced Charanjit Singh Channi as the party’s chief ministerial face for the upcoming Assembly elections, pushing PPCC Chief Navjot Singh Sidhu out of the race.
The decision shows that it has gone by the popular demand of the party leaders and workers and at the same time cash in on the Dalit-Sikh face and nearly 32 per cent SC population in the state.
The moment Rahul Gandhi, who was in Ludhiana to address a virtual rally, made public the chief ministerial face, cheers erupted from the listening crowd.
“I sincerely thank the Congress High Command and people of Punjab for bestowing their trust in me,” Channi tweeted after he was named the chief ministertial face of the Congress for the February 20 Punjab Assembly elections.
Channi’s supporters broke into celebrations in front of his house at Morinda in Chamkaur Sahib.
Waving Congress flags, they burst crackers and danced on the beats of ‘dhol’.
Congress supporters also celebrated Channi’s nomination as CM face outside the venue of the virtual rally in Ludhiana.
Sidhu has been saying that he would abide by the party high command’s decision with a rider that the choice of the candidate should be on the basis of honesty and not seen as part of the mafia.
Amid the argument till the last moment that no one should be announced the chief ministerial face as it will give handle to the Opposition and demoralise the leader left out. Sidhu had said 60 MLAs will be needed to form the government and people will vote only for the CM candidate with a clean image.
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