The newly-elected Chief Minister of Punjab Charanjit Channi met Rahul Gandhi on Thursday night to discuss the expansion of the state cabinet. The meeting went on for five hours at Mr Gandhi’s residence at the national capital, which got over at 2 pm on Friday.
Punjab Congress in-charge Harish Rawat and party national general secretary KC Venugopal and Priyanka Gandhi were present at the meeting.
Navjot Sidhu was included in the meeting.
Meanwhile, sources said that Congress close aide the former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh is likely to be excluded from the new Cabinet.
Punjab’s chief minister was on an official trip to Kapurthala and reached Delhi late in the afternoon and his meeting with Rahul, Venugopal and Rawat stretched until midnight.
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Channi is expected to return back to Chandigarh on Friday afternoon after getting the high Command green light.
Sources said new faces will be inducted into Channi’s cabinet.
Former finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal, state unit working president Sangat Singh Gilzian were also present in Delhi, along with several other MLAs.
In addition to the Cabinet expansion discussion, the high command has also taken the fallout of the rebellion by former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh into account. “The central leadership has adopted a wait-and-watch approach and closely following the former chief minister’s every step,” a source familiar with the development said.
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Channi and his two deputies Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and OP Soni both along with Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu had visited Delhi on Tuesday to meet Venugopal Rawat and two central observers Ajay Maken and Harish Chaudhary the suggestion of probable names to be included in the ministry.
Channi and his deputies took oath on Monday after a three-day power tussle in the state after Captain’s sudden resignation. Channi is a three-time MLA from Rupnagar's Chamkaur Sahib and is the first Dalit Chief Minister of Punjab. This comes a few months before the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections.