Guwahati: The Congress party has elected Charanjit Singh Channi, the outgoing technical education minister, as the new chief minister of Punjab after Captain Amarinder Singh resigned from the post on Saturday.
Channi will succeed Captain Amarinder Singh, who resigned as the chief minister of Punjab on Saturday following months of infighting between him and Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief Navjot Singh Sidhu.
The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled to take place on Monday in Chandigarh, a day after his name was announced by the Congress leadership for the top job in the state. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is expected to attend the ceremony.
On Saturday, Amarinder Singh had resigned from the post after months-long power-sharing tussle with state unit president Navjot Singh Sidhu. Assembly elections are due in the state next year. Punjab is one of the last three remaining Congress-ruled states in the country.
Earlier on Monday, Channi offered prayers at a Gurudwara in Rupnagar. A three-time MLA from Rupnagar’s Chamkaur Sahib, Channi, 58, will be the first Dalit chief minister of the state. He earlier served as the minister of technical education in the previous government, led by Singh.
