CHANDIGARH: Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi is likely to announce the Chief Ministerial candidate of the party for the upcoming Punjab assembly elections during his virtual rally in Ludhiana on February 6.
A video has gone viral in which Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi is heard telling this to his supporters during an election meeting at Chamkaur Sahib. "I will be with Rahul Gandhi at a virtual rally in Ludhiana on February 6 and there he is expected to make the announcement of the CM face," he said.
He told them to watch the virtual rally and accordingly make arrangements. This video went viral.
This would be Rahul’s second visit to Punjab after the announcement of the assembly elections after his earlier visit to Amritsar and Jalandhar. In the virtual rally in Jalandhar, he declared that at the request of both Navjot Singh Sidhu and Charanjit Singh Channi, a CM face will be announced soon.
Following this, the Congress has started taking feedback from workers and voters on who should be the party’s CM face. A pre-recorded message through the Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) is being sent out to mobile numbers of voters across the state, saying, "Sat Sri Akal Ji. I’m calling on behalf of AICC, New Delhi. We are seeking your feedback for the choice of the candidate for the post of Punjab Chief Minister; Press 1 after the beep for Charanjit Singh Channi; Press 2 for Navjot Singh Sidhu; Press 3 if you feel the Congress should go without a CM face."
The party has already got approximately 52 lakh responses from voters through the IVRS system till date. Also, feedback is being taken from district presidents, block presidents, party candidates, AICC coordinators and survey teams spread across the 117 assembly seats, said sources.
Both Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Punjab Congress President Navjot Singh Sidhu have, directly or indirectly, made a case for themselves to be declared as the party’s candidate for the top post.