<p>In the run-up to the 2017 assembly elections in Punjab, Capt Amarinder Singh ‘compelled’ the Congress high command to name him as the party chief ministerial candidate. The central leadership then ‘succumbed to pressure’ amid murmurs that Capt would rebel and float his party or join another political outfit. The decision paid off in the end and the Congress under Capt’s leadership managed to dethrone the SAD-BJP combine after a decade of rule.</p>.<p>This time around, Congress faces a serious dilemma on naming its CM face.</p>.<p>With AAP yesterday declaring Bhagwant Mann as its CM candidate, the Congress is clearly on the backfoot. The party's central leadership as of now finds it bootless to announce its CM face. Denials apart, top contenders in the race are edgy over the high command’s move to keep the decision on its CM face in abeyance.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/election/parties-lay-out-their-poll-road-map-with-ticket-list-in-uttar-pradesh-punjab-1071415.html">Parties lay out their poll road map with ticket list in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab</a></strong></p>.<p>Party chief Navjot Singh Sidhu and chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, the two frontrunners in the race for the CM candidate, are seen to be pulling in the opposite directions. Sidhu has said unequivocally that Congress should name him its CM candidate. His message to his party was loud and clear when he said that it’s the people and not the high command that will decide the CM.</p>.<p>The complexities in naming the CM face have grown even more profound after the party decided to elevate Channi, a Dalit leader, as a replacement to Capt Amarinder Singh. Sidhu then missed the bus as the party high command factored in the consolidation of the Dalit voters ahead of polls in Punjab while announcing Channi as the next CM.</p>.<p>Sidhu has his hopes high on being named as the CM candidate. For the party to name Sidhu as CM face just weeks before elections on February 20 will undermine Channi as a stop-gap arrangement. It could also antagonise the Dalit population which the party wanted to appease in Channi’s elevation as CM.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/election/punjab/finishing-100-days-and-vows-will-congress-win-in-punjab-1072024.html">Finishing 100 days and vows, will Congress win in Punjab?</a></strong></p>.<p>Channi is the first Dalit CM of the state. Punjab in decades hasn’t seen anyone other than a Jat Sikh on the CM chair. Navjot Sidhu, a Jat Sikh, known for his unpredictable ways, would want to leverage his growing stature in the party after Capt’s ouster.</p>.<p>For now, the Congress is keen on a status quo with a Dalit-Jat Sikh combination, along with former party chief Sunil Jakhar serving as a Hindu face. </p>.<p><strong>Watch the latest DH Videos here:</strong></p>
<p>In the run-up to the 2017 assembly elections in Punjab, Capt Amarinder Singh ‘compelled’ the Congress high command to name him as the party chief ministerial candidate. The central leadership then ‘succumbed to pressure’ amid murmurs that Capt would rebel and float his party or join another political outfit. The decision paid off in the end and the Congress under Capt’s leadership managed to dethrone the SAD-BJP combine after a decade of rule.</p>.<p>This time around, Congress faces a serious dilemma on naming its CM face.</p>.<p>With AAP yesterday declaring Bhagwant Mann as its CM candidate, the Congress is clearly on the backfoot. The party's central leadership as of now finds it bootless to announce its CM face. Denials apart, top contenders in the race are edgy over the high command’s move to keep the decision on its CM face in abeyance.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/election/parties-lay-out-their-poll-road-map-with-ticket-list-in-uttar-pradesh-punjab-1071415.html">Parties lay out their poll road map with ticket list in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab</a></strong></p>.<p>Party chief Navjot Singh Sidhu and chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, the two frontrunners in the race for the CM candidate, are seen to be pulling in the opposite directions. Sidhu has said unequivocally that Congress should name him its CM candidate. His message to his party was loud and clear when he said that it’s the people and not the high command that will decide the CM.</p>.<p>The complexities in naming the CM face have grown even more profound after the party decided to elevate Channi, a Dalit leader, as a replacement to Capt Amarinder Singh. Sidhu then missed the bus as the party high command factored in the consolidation of the Dalit voters ahead of polls in Punjab while announcing Channi as the next CM.</p>.<p>Sidhu has his hopes high on being named as the CM candidate. For the party to name Sidhu as CM face just weeks before elections on February 20 will undermine Channi as a stop-gap arrangement. It could also antagonise the Dalit population which the party wanted to appease in Channi’s elevation as CM.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/election/punjab/finishing-100-days-and-vows-will-congress-win-in-punjab-1072024.html">Finishing 100 days and vows, will Congress win in Punjab?</a></strong></p>.<p>Channi is the first Dalit CM of the state. Punjab in decades hasn’t seen anyone other than a Jat Sikh on the CM chair. Navjot Sidhu, a Jat Sikh, known for his unpredictable ways, would want to leverage his growing stature in the party after Capt’s ouster.</p>.<p>For now, the Congress is keen on a status quo with a Dalit-Jat Sikh combination, along with former party chief Sunil Jakhar serving as a Hindu face. </p>.<p><strong>Watch the latest DH Videos here:</strong></p>
