Channi for CM, but Sidhu...?

The announcement of Charanjit Singh Channi as the chief ministerial candidate for Punjab by the Congress Party puts a definitive seal on the party’s choice of leadership in the event of its returning to power. The clear-headed decision following a contentious run-up to the polls during the last few crisis-ridden weeks should help the party at the hustings especially when this is no easy poll contest. The endorsement of the choice by the irrepressible Navjyot Singh Sidhu, which arrived following an IVR (Interactive Voice Response) exercise, lends credibility to it. The decision should stand the party in good stead especially when it is facing the electorate in a state recovering from the yearlong farmers’ agitation. The decision announced by party leader Rahul Gandhi has come after considerable intraparty conflict over the leadership issue amid speculation that Sidhu coveted the top post. This had led political observers to doubt that Channi was merely a stop-gap leader with an eye on the formidable 32 per cent Dalit vote—of both Hindus and Sikhs put together. Grave apprehensions were being expressed if Channi was only a pawn till the verdict or the party would indeed stand by its commitment to put in place a Dalit chief minister. Though Channi is already the CM, and the first Dalit one at that, he owes his current tenure to internal manipulation within the Congress, factional balances and the outcome of attempts by a few contenders to checkmate each other. But electoral legitimacy has eluded him so far. It is to be seen if the party is capable of converting the electoral plank into a victory, the sole criterion of popular endorsement. The air has now been cleared in the wake of the announcement.

as now been cleared in the wake of the announcement. The state goes to polls on February 20 for its 117 seats. The Congress had ruled the State winning 77 seats in 2017. Aam Aadmi Party had won 20 seats and took the main Opposition role while the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) had to be content with just 18 seats. The farmers’ agitation which led to the BJP and SAD parting ways and the exit of former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh from the ruling Congress has rendered the electoral scene fuzzy in the State. However, by declaring Bhagwat Singh Mann as its chief ministerial candidate the AAP did steal a lead over others. At the other extreme, Capt. Amarinder Singh has floated a new party, Panjab Lok Congress which has entered into an alliance with the BJP and a splinter of the SAD led by Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa. The SAD which once ruled Punjab for several tenures has Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) for an ally which is considerably weakened due to the pliant leadership of Mayawati.

Looking at the overall scenario, it appears the Congress should be the weightiest contender with AAP being its nearest rival. What it loses by way of incumbency seems to be getting neutralized with its support to the farmers’ cause. Having cleared the air on the issue of leadership it has added to its plusses. However, it would need to strictly watch and keep a tab on the cricketer-turned-politician Sidhu whose grudge and heartburn might prove a challenge from within in the days to come.