Charanjit Singh Channi

For the upcoming Punjab assembly elections, Congress has fielded Charanjit Singh Channi from Chamkaur Sahib. At present, Channi is the chief minister of Punjab. Prior to being appointed the chief minister of Punjab, Channi was the Minister of Technical Education and Training in the second Amarinder Singh ministry. He had also been the leader of opposition in the Punjab Legislative Assembly. In September 2021, Charanjit Singh Channi succeeded Captain Amarinder Singh as the chief minister of Punjab after the latter's resignation. With this, Channi became the first Dalit Sikh Chief Minister of Punjab. Several policy announcements were made by Channi soon after he took charge at the office. On September 21, Channi promised action concerning a sacrilege case and said that the electricity bills of waterworks schemes would be waived and connections would be restored. On September 23, Channi said "Class D" government jobs would be regularised - (they were previously outsourced). During this while, Channi was surrounded by criticism from Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal as the latter commented on his attire and also told him to buy clothes. On the personal front, Channi was born in the village of Makrauna Kalan, Punjab. He read law at Panjab University completed his MBA from PTU, Jalandhar. He belongs to the Dalit Sikh community.