The election frenzy in India has already kicked off with the polling process in five states just a few short days away. Amid this, the Congress party is set to reveal its chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Punjab assembly polls 2022.
According to media reports, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will be revealing the Chief Minister face of the party for the upcoming elections in Punjab today, February 6. It is likely that the CM candidate will be chosen out of the two top picks, Navjot Singh Sidhu and Charanjit Singh Channi.
While Navjot Singh Sidhu is the current Punjab Congress president, Charanjit Singh Channi is the current chief minister for Punjab and was appointed after former CM Captain Amarinder Singh had resigned from his post due to an internal party conflict.
Despite being the CM for only a few months, Channi has a major popularity quotient in Punjab, according to opinion polls. Sidhu and Channi have been involved in a few internal party tussles in the past, and it is likely that the CM choice of the party will be made between them.
Earlier, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi had said that both Channi and Sidhu have said that whosoever will be the CM candidate for the party in the upcoming elections, the other will support the party’s choice and the candidate throughout the polling process.
Gandhi had made this statement soon after Sidhu demanded publicly in a rally that the party reveal their CM choice for the upcoming polls as he doesn’t want to be a “showpiece” for the party. Gandhi had revealed that the decision will be taken after consulting key party members.
Meanwhile, Congress president Sonia Gandhi started seeking the opinions of the party workers and members on the matter, even seeking out the public opinion in Punjab through the Shakti app, according to media reports.
The Punjab assembly elections 2022 are set to commence on February 20 and will be conducted in a single phase. The counting of the votes in the state will take place on March 10.
(With PTI inputs)
