Charanjit Singh Channi Is The New Chief Minister Of Punjab
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-09-19 15:42:42
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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
View all posts by this Author
Charanjit Singh Channi is to be the next chief minister of Punjab. The three-time MLA from Chamkaur Sahib is the first Dalit Sikh to be the chief minister. He was a minister in the previous cabinet but was vocal against Capt. Amarinder Singh for not paying attention to issues raised by party leaders. He had gone to Dehradun to meet Congress' Punjab handler Harish Rawat last month. That clearly proves that he was in the anti-Amarinder Singh camp. The 58-year-old Channi is otherwise not known to be in any particular camp. After his unanimous election, PCC chief Navjot Singh Sidhu accompanied him to Raj Bhawan. The very fact that he was 'elected' unanimously means that the Congress high command has placated both Sidhu and Capt Singh and Channi is obviously a compromise pick.
But it is unlikely that Channi will be the face of the Congress going into the elections next year. Navjot Singh Sidhu is too ambitious to allow that. Since he has achieved his first aim by ousting Capt. Amarinder Singh, he is likely to take rapid steps to achieve the second aim of being the chief minister. Channi is just a stop-gap appointment as appointing Sidhu now would have meant antagonizing Capt Singh further. As Capt. Singh had given hints about deciding his future course of action (which meant he might even consider leaving the Congress) the party must have got his nod before picking Channi. Having a leader of Amarinder Singh's standing in its corner, even though he is now bitter and very angry with the party for the 'humiliating' treatment meted out to him, is going to help the party in the ensuing elections.
As of now, the Congress does not feel any threat to its prospects in Punjab as the opposition is in disarray. The BJP is thoroughly discredited due to the farmers' agitation. Akali Dal has still not got its act together after breaking its alliance with the BJP. Only the AAP is looking good, but it does not have state level leaders to spring a surprise. By replacing Singh, the Congress has taken care of the anti-incumbency factor. But in state elections, situations change fast and if the Congress does not play its cards right, internal conflicts might hand it a loss from a seemingly winning position.
