Chandigarh, September 19: Charanjit Singh Channi was named the next Punjab Chief Minister on Sunday. The announcement was made by the Congress state-in-charge Harish Rawat. He tweeted, "It gives me immense pleasure to announce that Sh. #CharanjitSinghChanni has been unanimously elected as the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party of Punjab." Channi served as Technical Education Minister in Capt Amarinder Singh's cabinet. Charanjit Singh Channi to Be Next Punjab Chief Minister.

Channi's appointment as the new Punjab CM came as a surprise. Reports had earlier claimed that Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa would be the new CM of the state. "I am happy with high command's decision.... I want to thank all the MLAs who have supported me. Channi is my brother..," reported NDTV quoting Randhawa as saying after Channin was appointed as the CM. Captain Amarinder Singh Wrote to Congress President Sonia Gandhi Before Quitting as CM of Punjab, Expressed Anguish Over Recent Developments.

Tweet By Harish Rawat: 

Who Is Charanjit Singh Channi?

The 58-year old Channi is the first Dalit chief minister of the state. He belongs to the Ramdasia Sikh community. He was the Technical Education Minister of the state. He was made the minister in 2017. Channi is a three-time MLA from the Chamkaur Sahib assembly constituency and was the leader of opposition in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha from 2015 to 2016.

Channi's appointment as the CM of Punjab is considered as a political move to counter Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BJP) alliance in the upcoming assembly elections in Punjab, which are due in March next year. Earlier, Ambika Soni declined to become the chief minister.

The new CM was appointed a day after Capt. Singh submitted his resignation. He resigned from the post after a bruising power struggle with state party chief Navjot Singh Sidhu. Capt Singh had said he felt "humiliated" over the way the party handled the crisis.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 19, 2021 06:43 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).