Charanjit Singh Channi to be next Chief Minister of Punjab

Chandigarh: A Dalit face of Congress, Charanjit Singh Channi will be the next chief minister of Punjab, Congress leader Harish Rawat announced on Twitter ending the day-long speculation over the crucial post. “It gives me immense pleasure to announce that Shri Charanjit Singh Channi has been unanimously elected as the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party of Punjab,” Harish Rawat tweeted. 

Charanjit Singh Channi is a three-time MLA and the first Dalit chief minister of the state. With a clean political record, Channi has also been the former leader of opposition in the Punjab assembly. Charanjit Singh Channi was the technical education minister of the outgoing Amarinder Singh cabinet. In the assembly, he represents the Chamkaur Sahib constituency.

The announcement follows a dramatic day of hectic parleys and ends with a surprise as Congress MLAs have earlier told that they proposed the name of Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa as the chief minister.