New Delhi: After being away from the public eye since the Congress’ humiliating defeat in Punjab earlier this year, former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi was seen in Delhi on Monday, meeting the party’s powers that be.
The Congress’ ‘Dalit face’ in the Punjab polls – who lost both seats in the polls – met party president Mallikarjun Kharge and general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday. This was Channi’s first public appearance since 3 May, the timing being significant as Rahul Gandhi’s “Bharat Jodo Yatra” enters Punjab in January.
Tweeting after a hiatus of almost six months, Channi said he met Priyanka to congratulate her on the party’s recent win in the Himachal Pradesh polls where she had campaigned for the Congress.
After the Punjab debacle in March, Channi had found no organisational role in the state unit and was learnt to be shuttling between Canada and the USA since May.
As reported by ThePrint, Channi’s brother had said he was using his free time to work on his PhD (from Panjab University) on the topic “Indian National Congress’ Central Organisation and Elections Strategy Since 2004”.
Congress leaders, at the time, had also insinuated that Channi may have been on a “political exile”.
On Monday, Channi discussed his possible future role in the party’s Punjab unit with the two leaders, sources told ThePrint.
Incidentally, the Punjab Congress was restructured after the party’s loss when several old faces gave way to new ones. Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, 44, was appointed the state chief after his predecessor Navjot Singh Sidhu was shown the door.
Sidhu, who emerged as the Gandhis’ choice in his factional duel with former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, is largely seen as the reason behind the party’s downfall in the state.
Following Amarinder’s resignation as CM, Channi was appointed by the high command, merely months before the polls. Soon after, a feud surfaced between Sidhu and Channi, but it was temporarily quelled by the Gandhis after the latter was chosen as the party’s CM face for the state polls.
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