Mr. Channi, a Dalit Sikh, was one of the Ministers who rebelled against Amarinder Singh.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) on Sunday announced Charanjit Singh Channi, a Dalit Sikh – as the leader of Punjab Congress Legislature Party (CLP), who would be State’s next Chief Minister.
AICC in-charge of Punjab affairs Harish Rawat announced the name of new CLP leader on twitter. “It gives me immense pleasure to announce that Sh. #CharanjitSinghChanni has been unanimously elected as the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party of Punjab,” he said.
Mr. Channi was one among the Cabinet minister, who rebelled against Capt. Amarinder Singh, expressing lack of faith in the leadership of the Chief Minister in fulfilling the party’s 2017 Assembly election promises.
AICC-appointed observers Harish Chaudhary and Ajay Maken, and Punjab affairs incharge Harish Rawat were in Chandigarh and held meetings with party leaders and collected feedback from MLAs ahead of the announcement. Earlier, on September 18 in the CLP meeting, the party MLAs had passed a resolution in which the Congress president was authorised to select the CLP leader.
The announcement came a day after the Congress high command forced the resignation of Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh ahead of a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting convened by the AICC on September 18. The final decision of the new chief minister was left to the party president Sonia Gandhi.
