Amid a bitter power struggle between Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi and state Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu, the Congress on Monday put out a video on its official Twitter handle virtually projecting Channi as its chief minister face.
The Congress on Monday posted a video from its Twitter handle indicating that Channi is the party’s chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Assembly elections.
The 36-second-long video features actor Sonu Sood talking about the ideal qualities that make a chief minister.
Sood can be heard saying: “The real chief minister or the real king is the one who is forcibly brought to the chair. He does not have to struggle. He does not need to say “I am the chief minister’s candidate, I deserve it”. He should be someone who is a backbencher. He is someone who comes from behind and is told he is worthy of it [the post]. Whoever becomes that can change the country.”
Captioning the video clip, the Congress in Hindi has said, “Punjab is saying we will empower one and all with our stamp.”
बोल रहा पंजाब, अब पंजे के साथ- मजबूत करेंगे हर हाथ। pic.twitter.com/qQOZpnKItd
— Congress (@INCIndia) January 17, 2022
There is, however, no official statement by Congress or even the state unit about Channi being picked as the chief minister’s face.
Congress leaders told The Indian Express that the party was projecting Channi as the next chief minister for now. “That is the reason the official handle of the Congress tweeted the video,” a senior party leader told the newspaper. “Channi is popular in the surveys. He has transitioned as a political leader ever since he took over as chief minister.”
Until last week, the top leadership in the Congress was in a bind over state unit chief Navjot Singh Sidhu’s apparent insistence and posturing on being declared the chief ministerial face for the upcoming Assembly elections. It seems like its not the case with Sidhu’s face missing from the viral clip.
It is also being said Channi’s handling of the recent controversy over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security lapse in Ferozepur seems to have helped his case and made the Gandhis see the bigger picture, as per News18.
The official Twitter handle of the Punjab Congress has also shared the video clip.
The Congress in Punjab is seeking to stage a repeat of its government but has not yet named a chief ministerial candidate.
Notably, Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, who is also eyeing the top post, had on earlier asserted that people elect MLAs and that they would choose their chief minister, not the Congress high command.
Channi, belonging to the Scheduled Caste, was made the chief minister after replacing Amarinder Singh.
Punjab will vote in a single phase on 20 February and the results will be announced on 10 March.
With inputs from agencies
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