The declaration by the Congress high command that dalit Sikh leader Charanjit Singh Channi would be the next chief minister of Punjab came as a surprise, with the Chamkaur Sahib MLA's name seeming to appear out of nowhere to edge out a number of other names that had been doing the rounds since Saturday.
Channi emerged as a dark horse in a race that was dominated by several other names, including former PCC chiefs Sunil Jakhar and Partap Singh Bajwa, Jail and Cooperation Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Lok Sabha MP Ravneet Singh Bittu and even veteran leader Ambika Soni, who was in fact offered the chief minister's post but she declined saying that a Sikh leader should succeed Capt Amarinder Singh in the top post. There was also speculation that PCC chief Navjot Singh Sidhu could be appointed the next chief minister.
For most part of Sunday afternoon, the name of Randhawa was reported to have taken the lead after a majority of MLAs were learnt to have supported him. And then came the surprise announcement by AICC general secretary in-charge of Punjab Harish Rawat that Channi would be the next chief minister.
According to sources, the party's central observers Ajay Maken and Harish Choudhary and Rawat had met MLAs individually to guage their opinion on who should be Amarinder's successor, and a list of the shortlisted names was sent to the central leadership for a decision to be taken. After a day-long struggle to arrive at a consensus, Channi emerged as a name acceptable to most.
Former party president Rahul Gandhi is learnt to have played a leading role in the hectic political developments in the state since Friday night—from the decision to replace Amarinder and choosing the next chief minister.
Set to take over as the first dalit chief minister of the state, the 58-year-old Channi is a three-time legislator in the Vidhan Sabha and was Minister for Technical Education in the Amarinder cabinet. The Chamkaur Sahib MLA has been the Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly in the past.
Channi, who will take oath as the chief minister at 11 am on Monday along with his cabinet ministers, was earlier a supporter of Amarinder. He was amongst the MLAs who had in 2017 appealed to the party high command to replace then PCC chief Partap Singh Bajwa with Amarinder ahead of the Assembly elections.
The CM-designate belongs to the Ramdasia Sikh community. The effort of the Congress, through Channi's nomination as chief minister, could be to ensure that the dalits, who do not vote en bloc for the party, back it in the coming elections. While the Jatavs are known to be traditional supporters of the Congress, the votes of other sub-castes are divided. The dalit vote has the potential to play a crucial role in deciding the poll verdict in Punjab, with the community comprising over 32 per cent of the state's population. Some seats in the Doaba region have more than 40 per cent dalit population. The decision also has to be seen in the backdrop of the Akali Dal having tied up with the Bahujan Samaj Party for the Assembly polls.
With a somewhat low-profile Channi at the helm in government, the party hopes that the focus will be on Sidhu as the face of the party's campaign for the Assembly elections.
