Charanjit Singh Channi Is The Congress' CM Face For Punjab
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2022-02-06 15:05:48
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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack
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So after all the drama and the veiled 'threats' from Navjot Singh Sidhu, it is Charanjit Singh Channi who is to be CM face of the Congress in Punjab. Rahul Gandhi announced Channi's name in a rally at Ludhiana, saying that he had been selected by the people of Punjab (the Congress had conducted a process of feedback from the people over telephone, like AAP had done before). Shortly before the announcement, Sidhu had said that he will accept the name announced by Rahul Gandhi. Channi and Sidhu had also hugged on the stage before the announcement.
But Sidhu's attitude ever since he managed to dislodge Captain Singh from the chief minister's chair and despite his expectation, Channi was elevated to the post, shows that he might not take this lying down. Although the party can now (after the public voting) say that as per his wish, the people of Punjab have decided who should lead the party, Sidhu might adopt the strategy of winning over MLAs to turn the tables. But it is unlikely that many MLAs will support him now that the high command has made its preference clear.
Although Channi touched Sidhu's feet to seek his blessings after the announcement, it remains to be seen how Sidhu takes the decision. For, although he said before the announcement that he has already accepted the decision of Rahul Gandhi, he also said the party should not treat him like a showpiece. In Sidhu speak, if he is kept idle or given a decorative post like the PCC chief, he remains a showpiece. Nothing short of the chief minister's chair will do for him. It also depends on how Sidhu decodes Rahul Gandhi's speech before the announcement in which the Congress leader used lines like "Punjabis told us we need a person who can understand the poor" and the party has "a system to develop leaders" and "leaders are not made by participating in television debates" or the most interesting "there are many commentators, but it is not easy to groom a leader". If he takes it on the chin then there will be trouble for the Congress.
