Charanjit Singh Channi has taken oath as the chief minister of Punjab today in a ceremony that was skipped by his predecessor Capt. Amarinder Singh. The ceremony was attended by Rahul Gandhi.
Channi is likely to call on the sulking Captain after his oath-taking ceremony. The Captain’s sudden exit befuddled the top brass, even as the high command decided to put up a show of strength after months of infighting between Singh and Navjot Singh Sidhu.
Channi will be the first Dalit to hold the post in the state. Sukhjinder Randhawa, who was the frontrunner for the post was given the post of deputy chief minister along with Brahm Mohindra, according to a tweet by AICC Treasurer Pawan Kumar Bansal.
Senior Congress leader Harish Rawat on Sunday said the party will also try to bring Captain Amarinder Singh on board and hoped that the decision to appoint a Dalit Chief Minister – a first in Punjab- will help the grand-old party in other poll-bound states.
“I am proud to be part of the process of making the first Dalit CM for the state. We will try to bring Captain Amarinder Singh on board. There will be two Deputy Chief Ministers. Only the Chief Minister will take oath tomorrow and the cabinet will take it later. The decision on making Dalit a CM should help us in other poll-bound states. The decision for the face for upcoming polls will be taken later,” Rawat said.
The party settled on Channi after several names did the rounds. A high level meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) scheduled for 11 AM was also cancelled after a flurry of consultations on the name for the new CM came in.
Congress veteran Ambika Soni also told reporters in Delhi that she was offered the post but declined.
