Congress leader Charanjit Singh Channi will take oath as the 16th Chief Minister of Punjab at 11 am on Monday. This swearing-in ceremony will be held in Chandigarh. A three-time MLA from Chamkaur Sahib constituency, Channi, a Dalit leader, has risen rapidly. Let us tell you that Channi was born in 1963 in Bhajauli village of Punjab near Kurali. His family had settled in Malaysia where his father worked, but he returned to India in 1955 and settled in the town of Kharar in the SAS Nagar district of Punjab.
Now after the resignation of Captain Amarinder Singh, the Congress party has chosen Charanjit Singh Channi as the new Chief Minister. For the first time in Punjab, a Dalit has reached the post of Chief Minister. Assembly elections are to be held in Punjab next year and this decision of the Congress can benefit the party. In Punjab, the Congress seems to be clearing its way forward by making about 30 percent of the Dalit population and the Dalit Chief Minister.
Here are the updates on Channi's swearing-in ceremony so far:
• News agency ANI reported that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is unlikely to attend the swearing-in ceremony.
• Congress party's Punjab in-charge Harish Rawat said on Sunday that the state would have two deputy chief ministers. "One deputy chief minister will be from the Jat Sikh community and the other will be from the Hindu community."
• According to Congress leaders, the ceremony will be small in which around 40 people will attend.
• Meanwhile, Union Minister Meenakshi Lekhi said on Sunday that it is a matter of 4-6 months and the people will again elect the Chief Minister of the state. .
• Amarinder Singh on Saturday resigned as the Chief Minister of Punjab after months of tussle between Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu.
• Capt's resignation came less than an hour after the Congress held a Legislature Party (CLP) meeting. The meeting was originally planned to reduce the party's infighting between the Singh and Sidhu camps, but after the resignations, it discussed choosing the next chief minister of Punjab.
• Channi was unanimously elected as the leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) of Punjab and is set to take over as the next Chief Minister following the resignation of Captain Amarinder Singh.
• Channi was the Minister of Technical Education in Amarinder Singh's cabinet.
• He is faced with the daunting task of controlling the ongoing infighting, which is unlikely to subside even after Amarinder Singh leaves and could become a major challenge for the party trying to retain power in the state.
• Channi will have to get on the ground before the state elections to fulfill the 18 promises that the high command had submitted to Amarinder three months ago.
