In Charanjit Singh Channi, Punjab Gets Its First Dalit Chief Minister; Congress's 'Safe Bet'

Charanjit Singh Channi has become the new Chief Minister of Punjab, as Harish Rawat announced in a tweet that the Dalit leader has been unanimously elected as the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party. A Dalit face for Punjab’s top post, for the first time, may signal the party’s push ahead of 2022 assembly elections in the state, where the community approximately makes 33% of the general population. LIVE: New Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi On His Way to Raj Bhawan to Meet Guv

The appointment of Channi comes as a surprise as his name entered the list of probables only later in the day, after Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa’s, whose name had reportedly been proposed as the CM, according to Congress MLA Pritam Kotbhai. The names of Ambika Soni, Navjot Singh Sidhu and Sunil Jakhar were also doing the rounds.

The development came a day after Congress veteran Amarinder Singh resigned as chief minister amid a bitter power tussle with state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, who was earlier elevated as the Punjab Congress chief.

Who is Charanjit Singh Channi?

A Punjab-based Congressman, Channi, 47, serves as the Punjab government’s Minister of Technical Education and Industrial Training.

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He represents the Chamkaur Sahib Assembly Constituency. From 2015 to 2016, he was the leader of the opposition in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha. He succeeded Sunil Jakhar and had succeeded HS Phoolka.

He is a member of the Ramdasia Sikh community and was appointed as a cabinet minister in Capt. Amarinder Singh’s cabinet in Punjab on March 16, 2017.

He had served as the Municipal Councilor for three terms and moved on to become the President of Municipal Council Kharar for two terms. He was elected to the Punjab Vidhan Sabha for the first time in 2007.

Early Life and Struggles

Born on April 2, 1972, in village Makrona Kalan near Chamkaur Sahib, Charanjit received his primary education from a Government Primary School. He was born to an underprivileged family to father S. Harsa Singh and mother Ajmer Kaur.

His father struggled a lot to bring economic security to his family, for which he also migrated to Malaysia. He worked hard and ultimately succeeded in his ventures. He returned and settled in Kharar town starting a business of a Tent House where Channi also played as a ‘tent boy’. His father is said to a very generous man even in his business dealings.

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