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Punjab polls: Rahul to declare Congress' CM face on Sunday, says Harish Chaudhary
The Congress is said to be trying to find a fine balance in its CM face between incumbent Charanjit Singh Channi and the party’s Punjab unit president Navjot Singh Sidhu.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will name the party’s chief ministerial pick for the upcoming Punjab Assembly election during his visit to Ludhiana in the border state on Sunday. Gandhi will make the announcement while addressing a virtual rally during the day, said Congress leader Harish Chaudhary on Friday.
The Congress is said to be trying to find a fine balance in its CM face between incumbent Charanjit Singh Channi and the party’s Punjab unit president Navjot Singh Sidhu.
"On February 6, Rahul Gandhi ji will visit Ludhiana and from there will address a virtual rally in the afternoon and announce the CM face," Chaudhary, who is also the party's Punjab affairs in-charge, was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
Congress MLAs and party leaders from all 117 assembly constituencies will remain present for the rally along with as many supporters allowed according to the Election Commission guidelines, Chaudhary said.
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Channi, who has been mired by ongoing sand mining controversy in which his nephew has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate, has said he would wholeheartedly back the party's candidate who would be named for the chief ministerial post. He is scheduled to accompany Gandhi during his Sunday visit.
Channi took charge of the Punjab government after Amarinder Singh announced his resignation from the post and the party following a bitter political tussle with Sidhu. With this, he became the first chief minister from the Scheduled Caste (SC) community in the state.
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“I had already said from the stage in Jalandhar (virtual rally) that I will go with the party's decision on the CM face. I have already made a commitment from the stage in Gandhi's presence that whosoever is made CM face, I will wholeheartedly back him and the same commitment has been made by Navjot Singh Sidhu and other leaders,” PTI quoted Channi as saying in Bhadaur, the second Assembly seat from where he is contesting the polls.
On January 27, Gandhi had in a virtual rally said the party will go to polls in the state with a CM face, adding the decision will eventually be taken after consulting party workers.
Besides taking feedback from the leaders and workers of the party, the Congress is also seeking the opinion of the public on who should be its chief ministerial candidate through an automated call system.
A day ago, Sidhu said "people at the top" want a weak chief minister, without elaborating on who he was referring to. "People at the top want a weak chief minister who can dance to their tunes," Sidhu said while addressing a gathering in Amritsar on Thursday.
When asked about Sidhu’s remarks, Chaudhary said, "If one goes through Sidhu's entire statement, then this question would not be asked. It will become clear that he is not speaking about the Congress party, but about Narendra Modi's BJP.”
He said Sidhu had assured the people of Punjab of supporting whoever is made the party’s CM candidate.
Polling for the 117-member Punjab Assembly is scheduled to be held on February 20. The counting of votes will be taken up on March 10.
