Will Congress pick Channi over Sidhu as CM face in Punjab?

Congress dithered to name a CM face to avoid dissent and confusion but Rahul Gandhi gave in to pressure from state leaders

The Congress central leadership could prefer Dalit leader Charanjit Singh Channi over state congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, a Jat Sikh, as its chief ministerial candidate for the ensuing assembly elections on February 20, sources told DH.

Even as Congress talked about "collective leadership" while dithering to name one CM face to avoid dissent and confusion, Rahul Gandhi gave in to pressure from state leaders, including both Channi and Sidhu, and announced last week that the party will in fact be naming a CM candidate soon. The party is also undertaking a voting exercise in which names of only Channi and Sidhu have been included. A third option asks workers if they wouldn’t want a CM face before elections.

Even as Congress may be throwing its weight behind Channi as the top contender for the CM face, former Punjab Congress chief Sunil Kumar Jakhar gave a new twist to the complexities surrounding this exercise.

Punjab polls: Channi asks people to ensure his victory from Chamkaur Sahib

Jakhar, who returned from Europe recently and ended his mandatory home quarantine a few days ago, revealed that Channi got only 2 votes from Punjab Congress MLAs when the party was looking at prospective leaders as the next chief minister after the exit of Capt Amarinder Singh. Jakhar claimed that 42 of the 79 party MLAs preferred him at the top post after Amarinder Singh stepped down.

Sidhu, he said, was favoured by 6 MLAs while 12 MLAs wanted deputy CM Sukhjinder Randhawa as the next CM after Amarinder, Jakhar revealed at a public meeting in Abohar constituency, his home turf. Jakhar is not contesting this election but his nephew has been named as the party nominee from Abohar.

Despite only two MLAs favouring Channi, the party high command cherrypicked him as Capt’s replacement. Punjab is home to nearly 33 per cent of the country's Dalit population, the highest in the country. The grand old party played the Dalit card to woo voters, a significant factor that may be in Channi’s favour if he aims to be the CM face. Naming Sidhu at this stage could send a damning message to the Dalit voters.

Also read: Punjab polls: Amarinder predicts abysmal defeat for Sidhu

The party has tried to gain a tactical advantage by announcing Channi as a candidate from two seats, including Bhadaur in the Malwa region, a seat considered unsafe for the party. Naming Channi from a seat in electorally significant Malwa sends a strong signal to the voters. The party is positioning Channi for his mass appeal.

While both Sidhu and Channi in Rahul Gandhi’s presence have unequivocally said that the decision to name one leader as CM face will be free from any voices of dissent and cynicism, both leaders will need to walk the talk.

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