With elections in Punjab a month away, Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi feels the Congress should announce its chief ministerial candidate, pointing out that doing so in the past has brought electoral gains to the party. Channi’s statement comes at a time when opposition parties have targeted the Congress, saying it has several chief ministerial candidates, including its state unit president Navjot Singh Sidhu and party leader Sunil Jakhar.
AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said his party’s chief ministerial face for the Punjab Assembly polls would be announced next week. There is a possibility that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) may declare its MP Bhagwant Mann as the chief ministerial candidate.
Responding to a question about the chief ministerial candidate for the February 14 election, Channi said the decision was for the party to take. When asked whether the Congress should declare its candidate for the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections as the past trend sometimes makes such announcements and sometimes not and last time they had declared Amarinder Singh as the CM candidate, Channi replied Gave, “Last time when he declared Capt. (as CM’s face) we won and last time (CM) candidate was not declared we lost and before that when he (CM candidate) declared we won and when he didn’t declare candidate we lost” “This time he should give (announce) (Navjot) Sidhu is also saying he should announce.
Meanwhile, in response to another question during his interview, Channi claimed that “this will be a one-sided sweep” by the Congress. “We will win the election with an overwhelming majority”. He said that he has received a lot of love and respect from the people of the state.
On the question of some polls which claim that he is ahead of others in popularity rating, Channi said that this means more seats will be affected in favor of Congress. Asked if AAP’s announcement of its chief ministerial candidate and names of party MP Bhagwant Mann could boost the popularity of the MP, Channi said the same logic would work for him as well.
Also, Channi said that neither Mann nor he has been declared as the chief ministerial candidate by their respective parties. When asked whether his party should declare him as the chief ministerial candidate, Channi replied, “I never thought of such things. The last time when Pratap Singh Bajwa was the state unit chief, I Standing with him against Captain (Amarinder). But going. At that time I told Rahul Gandhi from the voice of the people that Captain should be declared candidate and he should be made CM because people are in his favour. (The party) did a survey and people wanted him (Amarinder). This time whom will people like him tell and the party will follow that.”
Asked if people like him, Channi said that he loves the people of Punjab and they also love them. “But who they want to see as CM, they will tell in the survey,” he said.
Congress is yet to announce its CM face for next month’s elections. If the Congress retains power in Punjab, where it is facing infighting, Charanjit Singh Channi, who became CM after ousting Amarinder Singh, is also seen as a strong contender. Replying to another question, Channi said that people are happy with the decisions taken by his government for the welfare of various sections.
He also pointed out that people prefer a leader who is accessible and down to earth. He said that despite the less than 100 days that he got before the Model Code of Conduct came into force, he has worked hard to ensure that the decisions of his government bring a change in the lives of common people.
The party’s state unit chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Tuesday asserted that the people elect the MLAs and in Punjab they will choose their chief minister and not the “high command” of the Congress. Sidhu had given a scathing reply amid speculation that the former cricketer himself is at the top post if the Congress wins next month’s assembly elections.
“People of Punjab will make CM. Who told you that the high command will make CM?” He had hit back at a journalist while answering a question on the party’s possible choice for the post.
,
read all breaking news, today’s fresh news And coronavirus news Here.
,