Form of words:
Chandigarh: It was a tumultuous day in Punjab as the Congress high command met to decide on the new CM of Punjab but could not reach a consensus.
The party’s decision to appoint Charanjit Singh Channi as Chief Minister was a surprise and left many unhappy faces.
The seeds of discontent were sown during the Congress Legislature Party meeting in Chandigarh on Saturday evening, where instead of announcing Captain Amarinder Singh’s successor, it was announced that the name of the next CM would be decided by party supremo Sonia Gandhi.
busy lobbying
ThePrint told several Congress leaders that former state Congress president Sunil Jakhar was in the race for the chief minister’s post, but some leaders opposed it.
“Former PPCC chief Sunil Jakhar was named at the top, though Sukhjinder Randhawa, Pratap Singh Bajwa and Charanjit Channi were also in the running. The name of a Hindu CM in Jakhar was being endorsed by the Navjot Singh Sidhu camp as well to counter Amarinder’s persistent attempt to intimidate the Hindu voter,” said a senior Congress leader.
Another leader claimed that preparations were on to remove Amarinder from last month, but felt that if Jakhar’s name is announced as the next chief minister, he will have to go ahead with the assembly elections next year. Will have to contest the election because he is not an MLA.
Hence the plan was postponed by a month, the leader said.
“Cabinet minister Brahm Mohindra, who belongs to Amarinder’s camp, said he was also a contender as he was among the senior most leaders. Speaker Rana KP also presented the claim. Then late last night (Saturday) it was decided that the name of senior Congress leader Ambika Soni should be finalized in place of Jakhar. There seemed to be a consensus on his name,” said the senior Congress leader quoted above.
Soni, however, met Rahul Gandhi and turned down the party’s offer. He said He believes that “the face of the Chief Minister of Punjab should be Sikh”.
Soni’s refusal triggered a new round of hectic lobbying, and by Sunday morning, an all-out tussle for the chair between Sidhu and Randhawa, both Jat Sikhs.
When Sidhu came to know that MLAs had started reaching Jakhar’s house in Panchkula with bouquets, he protested.
“Sidhu objected to Jakhar’s name and asked that he be made the CM. Randhawa, who had been pursuing the ambition of becoming CM since he managed to mobilize around 40 MLAs against Amarinder, made a counter-claim. Sidhu objected to Randhawa’s name. However, he agreed to a Dalit Sikh face instead of a Jat Sikh face. Sidhu felt that if another strong Jat Sikh was made the CM then he would claim the CM seat even after the elections and that would save him nowhere,” said an MLA, who was closely monitoring the developments of the day.
After several hours of hard work, it was finally decided that since Randhawa has the support of more MLAs than Sidhu, he should be made the Chief Minister. “At this point, Sidhu is said to have walked out of the meeting,” the MLA said.
Read also: Next CM of Punjab? Sidhu’s social media team is working hard to build that image
Channi’s name surprises
It seemed that the day’s drama came to an end with Randhawa’s name being finalised. First of all, the MLAs and ministers, who were shocked with the bouquet, started queuing for Randhawa’s residence. But an official announcement came in the form of two more names – cabinet minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Fatehgarh Sahib MP Dr Amar Singh – (both Dalit leaders).
Sources said state finance minister Manpreet Badal had some role in the last minute change.
“Manpreet understands Akali politics very well and it is likely that he felt that the Akalis were gaining land with the cooperation of the BSP and a Dalit CM as an interim arrangement would be a good bet. There is a possibility that he may have prompted the high command to consider the face of the Dalit chief minister,” said a senior Congress leader.
Channi who was waiting at Randhawa’s house with a bouquet to greet him and had given up all hope, was taken aback when Harish Rawat announced his name.
“Channi had earlier accompanied Rawat to the governor’s house to stake claim as CM and later the first person he met was Manpreet, who is also his neighbour. The rest, as they say, is history,” said the MLA.
Read also: Why Channi is the new CM of Punjab – Congress eyeing big Dalit vote bank, peace between factions
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