Sidhu or Channi? Rahul Gandhi to announce Congress' CM face for Punjab polls today

Polling for the 117-member Punjab Assembly will be held on February 20.

File Photo (ANI)

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will announce the name of the party's chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Punjab elections on Sunday (February 6, 2022) during his Ludhiana visit for a virtual rally.

"On February 6, Rahul Gandhi ji will visit Ludhiana and from there will address a virtual rally in the afternoon and announce the CM face," Harish Chaudhary, who is party's Punjab affairs in-charge, had said on Friday.

During his last visit to Punjab on January 27, Gandhi while addressing a virtual rally in Jalandhar, had announced that the Congress will soon declare its chief ministerial face for the February 20 polls and a decision on it will be taken after consulting the party workers.

Besides taking feedback from the leaders and workers of the party, the Congress has also reportedly sought the opinion of the public on who should be its chief ministerial candidate through an automated call system.

Speculations are rife that either party's state unit chief Navjot Singh Sidhu or current Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi will be Congress' CM face for the Punjab assembly elections.

Aawaz Punjab Di 

6th Feb '22 | 2 pm

Congress Hi Aaugi  pic.twitter.com/Uom000moMR — Punjab Congress (@INCPunjab) February 5, 2022

Ahead of the announcement of the chief ministerial face for the Punjab Assembly polls by the Congress, Sidhu had said that "people at the top" want a weak chief minister.

"People at the top want a weak chief minister who can dance to their tunes," Sidhu had said while addressing his supporters in Amritsar on Thursday.

He, however, did not make it clear whether he was referring to the Congress central leadership or anyone else.

Earlier on Saturday, Sidhu had said that a chief ministerial face will decide whether 60 candidates are elected as MLAs or not, referring to the number 60, one more than 59 lawmakers needed to form government in Punjab with a 117-member assembly.

Sidhu also stressed that a person who has a roadmap for Punjab and who enjoys the people's trust can only ensure 60 contestants get elected as legislators.

Channi, on the other hand, has said that he would wholeheartedly back the party's candidate who would be named for the chief ministerial post.

"I had already said from the stage in Jalandhar (virtual rally) that I will go with the party's decision on CM face. I have already made a commitment from the stage in Rahul Gandhi's presence that whosoever is made CM face, I will wholeheartedly back him and the same commitment has been made by Navjot Singh Sidhu and other leaders," Channi, who is contesting the polls from two assembly seats, had said.

"Whosoever's name is announced, we will go with him," he had added.

It is noteworthy that for the last several weeks, both Sidhu and Channi have, directly or indirectly, made a case for themselves to be declared as the party's nominee for the top post.

Polling for the 117-member Punjab Assembly is scheduled to be held on February 20. The counting of votes will be taken up on March 10.

(With agency inputs)