Punjab Assembly Elections 2022: Mallikarjun Kharge welcomes Dalit leader as Punjab CM face
After conducting a tele-poll where people were asked to choose CM face for the party, Rahul Gandhi announced Channi as CM face for Punjab. This move was similar to Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
New Delhi: Rajya Sabha MP and senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge welcomed the party's decision to name Charanjit Singh Channi as the party's chief ministerial face ahead of the Punjab Assembly Elections. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi named Charanjit Singh Channi as CM candidate in Ludhiana on Sunday.
Mallikarjun Kharge, who is a Dalit leader from Karnataka, told news agency ANI, " It's great that for the first time in the country, a Congress candidate (Charanjit Singh Channi) will be from the Dalit community (for CM). Punjab public will accept it, too, as he's a common man who does good work. Rahul Gandhi has given a good message."
While announcing a decision Rahul Gandhi said, "It was not my decision, I asked this to Punjab's people, youth, members of the working committee... though I may have an opinion your opinion is more important than mine... Punjabis told us that we need a person who can understand the poor".
After conducting a tele-poll where people were asked to choose CM face for the party, Rahul announced Channi as CM face for Punjab. This move was similar to Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
The telephone survey and the subsequent the announcement was the result of a running feud between the CM Channi and state party chief Navjot Sidhu, who has made his ambitions clear ever since he joined the Congress from the BJP ahead of the state elections in 2017.
Navjot Singh Sidhu indicated that he would work with the chief minister candidate chosen by the Congress high command.
At the virtual rally, Navjot Singh Sidhu said, "I have accepted Rahul Gandhi's decision. If I am given decision-making power, I will finish the mafia, improve people's lives. If not given power, I will walk with a smile with whomever you make CM".
Differences were brewing between Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Sidhu regarding the Chief Minister candidate of the party. Sidhu said that the people of Punjab will pick the new Chief Minister, indirectly opposing the leadership of Channi to lead the Assembly elections.
Charanjit Singh Channi took oath as chief minister on September 20 at Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh. Channi is the first Dalit Sikh Chief Minister of the state. He was previously Minister of Technical Education and Training under Amarinder Singh and leader of the opposition in the Punjab Legislative Assembly. He is a member of the Dalit community. He was born in the village of Makrona Kalan. He read law at Panjab University and has an MBA from PTU Jalandhar.
Considering the request of all political parties seeking to postpone the Punjab Assembly polls, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has postponed the elections to February 20 instead of February 14.
The Election Commission of India issued a statement postponing the Punjab Assembly elections in view of the birth anniversary of Guru Ravidas.
The political parties including Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Punjab Lok Congress chief, Captain Amarinder Singh, Aam Aadmi Party, Shiromani Akalidal and others requested the ECI to postpone the polls to enable the devotees to take part o the birth anniversary of Guru Ravidas on February 16.
Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi will contest from Chamkaur Saheb and Punjab Congress chief, Navjot Singh Sidhu will contest from Amritsar East constituency.
