Who is Charanjit Singh Channi? MLA from Chamkaur Sahib became first Dalit CM of Punjab

Charanjit Singh Channi's elevation as Punjab CM will allow the party to play the Dalit card in the coming elections. An estimated 30 per cent of the state's population, counting both Sikhs and Hindus, is from that community.

Chandigarh: Charanjit Singh Channi, who was chosen by the Congress central leadership after hectic deliberations to succeed Capt Amarinder Singh, was on Monday sworn in as the 16th chief minister of Punjab. With his elevation, Channi also created a history of sorts – he became the first-ever Dalit leader to hold the Chief Minister's post in the history of Punjab. 

Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit administered oath to Channi at a plain ceremony held at the Raj Bhawan here. Channi took oath in Punjabi. Along with him, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and OP Soni were also sworn in as deputy chief ministers.

The oath-taking ceremony was attended by many top Congress leaders, including Congress leader and former party president Rahul Gandhi and Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu. Amarinder Singh, who resigned as the chief minister two days back, was conspicuous by his absence.

Channi was appointed the CM of Punjab two days after Captain Amarinder Singh stepped down from the post following an internal row in the Congress party. Singh submitted his resignation from the post of Punjab CM just months before the next Punjab assembly elections.

Family background and education

Born in the village of Makrauna Kalan in Punjab's Rupnagar, Charanjit Singh Channi belongs to the Dalit community. Channi comes from a joint family of four brothers staying at Kharar. After completing his schooling at Kharar, Channi got enrolled into Guru Gobind Singh Khalsa College, Chandigarh, where he was elected as the general secretary of the student union. Channi’s wife Kamaljit Kaur is a government doctor. The couple has two children.

He has studied law at Panjab University and has an MBA from PTU Jalandhar. 

Political journey

Channi previously served as the Minister of Technical Education and Training under Amarinder Singh and the Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Legislative Assembly. He was the leader of opposition in the Punjab Legislative Assembly from 2015 to 2016. In 2017, he was appointed as the minister in the Amarinder Singh Cabinet.

He was elected to the Punjab Vidhan Sabha from Chamkaur Sahib Consistency for the first time in 2007. He was elected to the Assembly seat again in 2012 and then in 2017.

The Congress leadership on Sunday picked Channi as the next chief minister of Punjab after the resignation of Capt Amarinder Singh. Channi beat several Congress heavyweights to the top post, like Navjot Singh Sidhu, Sunil Jakhar and Ambika Soni, who declined the offer saying the chief minister of Punjab must be a Sikh leader. Soni was believed to be the first choice of the Congress for the top post.

#MeToo allegations

The newly-elected chief minister's name also appeared during the #MeToo movement. He was accused of allegedly sending an inappropriate text to a woman IAS officer in 2018. The woman IAS officer never filed a case and Captain Amarinder Singh had then said the case had been “resolved”. However, the case came to haunt him againafter the women’s panel sought the state’s reply on the charge.

Congress' Dalit card

Channi became chief minister with less than six months to go before the assembly polls in Punjab. Amarinder Singh was nudged into quitting ostensibly over his ‘failure’ to fulfil the promises made by the party in the 2017 assembly polls. It is not clear if the new CM will be able to accomplish the task in the time available to him, observers say.

But Channi’s appointment will allow the party to play the Dalit card in the coming elections. An estimated 30 per cent of the state's population, counting both Sikhs and Hindus, is from that community.