Ludhiana: Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi will be the Chief Ministerial candidate of Congress party for the Vidhan Sabha polls, scheduled to be held on February 20.
Senior Congress leader and former Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Sunday announced the name of Channi as the CM face of party in the Assembly elections.
Addressing a virtual rally at Harsheel Resort here, Rahul said that making Channi as candidate of the Chief Ministership was a very difficult decision and that he had to make it a democratic decision.
He said this was not a personal decision, but the decision of people of Punjab, party MLAs, MPs and senior leaders of the party.
The Congress MP said the party and the people wanted a person to be a party's chief minister face, who could be a poor man and has experienced poverty, besides who could realise the problems and miseries of people at the grassroot level.
Rahul said this decision was taken several days after the Congress high command had sought people's opinion to decide its chief ministerial candidate in Punjab through inter active voice responses (IBR calls).
Taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress leader said that the Prime Minister has become a king and has nothing to do with the problems of the people and the common man.
CM Channi thanked Gandhi and said that a poor man like him (Channi) has become a chief minister of Punjab due to him.
Channi said that he also thanked everyone for supporting him at the same time he said that there was a big battle to fight and he has no money and courage to fight it on his own.
The people of Punjab will fight this battle. Channi said the Punjab model of PPCC chief Navjot Singh Sidhu will be implemented. Apart from him, veteran Congress leader and former PPCC chief Sunil Jakhar was also in the race.
Two days ago, Jakhar had claimed that after the ouster of Capt Amarinder Singh, he secured 42 votes of the Congress MLAs, whereas Sidhu and Channi were far away from the mark during the CLP meeting. (UNI)