Rahul Gandhi in Chandigarh for Charanjit Singh Channi swearing-in; Amarinder Singh to skip

Chandigarh, Sep 20: Captain Amarinder Singh is unlikely to attend the oath-taking ceremony of Charanjit Singh Channi at 11 am. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Chandigarh for the oath-taking.

Channi, 58, is a three-time MLA, a vocal critic of Amarinder Singh, succeeds him as Punjab Chief Minister. September 19, 2021.

CM-designate Channi wanted to meet Captain Amarinder before the oath ceremony and tried approaching him through his close aides. But the former CM is reluctant to meet Channi, reports News 18.

With barely five months left for the assembly polls, the announcement of a Dalit face as chief minister by the Congress assumes significance as Dalits constitute nearly 32 percent of the state''s population. The Doaba region - Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, SBS Nagar and Kapurthala districts - has the highest population of Dalits.

Though Channi appears to be a surprise choice, it can be a calculated gamble by the party which is hoping that there might not be public opposition from leaders in the faction-ridden party to the naming of a Dalit for the post and it may contain the damage from the unsavoury exit of Amarinder Singh.

Channi is considered close to cricketer-turned-politician Sidhu. Along with three other ministers - Randhawa, Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa and Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria --- he has been part of the Sidhu camp in the party's divided house in Punjab.