Charanjit Singh Channi, the outgoing Technical Education Minister - a Dalit leader has been appointed as the new Chief Minister of Punjab. The appointment of Mr Channi has come after three days of high political drama in the poll-bound state that was contributed by the resignation of Amarinder Singh on Saturday.
“It gives me immense pleasure to announce that Sh. Charanjit Singh Channi has been unanimously elected as the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party of Punjab,” said Punjab Congress in-charge Harish Rawat.
Channi’s appointment comes as a surprise hours after sources said Sukhjinder Randhawa had been elected Congress Legislature Party leader. Meanwhile, the names of Ambika Soni, Navjot Singh Sidhu and Sunil Jakhar were also circulating.
Channi, 47-year-old, was born in Makrona Kalan village, near Chamkaur Sahib and later his family settled in Kharar, where he worked as the municipal councillor for three terms and went on to become the President for two more.
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Recently, he represents Chamkaur Sahib Assembly Constituency. In the year 2015 to 16, he was the leader of the opposition in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha.
He was first elected to the Punjab Vidhan Sabha in 2007 and was able to triumph again in 2012 and 2017.
Mr Channi belongs to the Ramdasia Sikh community and had voiced Dalit issues in the state. He too had revolted against Amarinder Singh’s administration taking a part in the anti-Amarinder campaign.
It is said that Channi has close ties with AICC leader Rahul Gandhi. The high command has picked the Dalit leader after two Jat Sikhs Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and PPCC chief Navjot Singh Sidhu [rptested again the decision to appoint a Sunil Jakhar a Hindu leader as the CM.
Channi’s name has been announced amid the power battle between the Jat Sikhs ministers.
Also Read: Charanjit Singh Channi – the new Chief Minister of Punjab
Charanjit has received his primary education from a Government Primary School and was born into an underprivileged family to his father S. Harsa Singh and mother Ajmer Kaur. Channi’s father had struggled hard to secure his family’s economic condition, for which he travelled to Malaysia. He worked there and returned to India opening a business of Tent House in Kharar town.