- Saturday, May 04, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
Charanjit Singh Channi on Monday (20) took oath as the chief minister of the northern Indian state of Punjab after veteran leader Captain Amarinder Singh stepped down on Saturday (18) citing humiliation. The swearing-in ceremony took place at Raj Bhavan, the official residence of state governor Banwarilal Purohit, in Chandigarh, the state capital.
The appointment of Channi, who took over as the poll-bound state’s first Dalit chief minister, takes place at a time when the ruling Indian National Congress has faced bitter feud between rivals Singh and Navjot Singh Sidhu, who was picked as the state president in July.
Channi’s appointment came after the name of Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa was doing the rounds as Singh’s successor. Speculation was also rife over Sunil Jakhar becoming the next chief minister. Former Indian central minister Ambika Soni, who hails from the state, said she was offered the post but turned it down saying the chief minister of Punjab should be a Sikh.
A member of the state legislative assembly representing the constituency of Chamkaur Sahib since 2007, the 58-year-old Channi was the state’s technical education and industrial training, employment generation and science and technology minister before his surprise elevation.
He has also been the leader of the opposition in Punjab assembly in 2015-16. Before his first election to the assembly in 2007, Channi was the president of the municipal council in Kharar town of Punjab. He became a minister in the Singh government in 2017 after the Congress returned to power after a decade.
Channi’s appointment is considered significant since Punjab has an approximate 33 per cent Dalit population, a key vote bank the ruling party is targeting in the assembly elections of 2022 to maintain a lead over opposition parties like the Shiromani Akali Dal and Aam Aadmi Party.
Channi has also been at the centre of controversies. In 2018, he allegedly sent an inappropriate text to a woman Indian Administrative Service officer. No complaint was filed and former chief minister Singh had said that the matter had been resolved. The controversy returned earlier this year when the Punjab state women’s commission sent a notice to the Singh government seeking a reply in the case.
