Gandhi’s choice of CM candidate will have everyone’s backing: Sidhu

Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Sunday said party leader Rahul Gandhi’s choice of chief ministerial candidate will have the backing of everyone in the state.

“All will abide” by the Congress leader’s decision, Sidhu wrote on Twitter.

Congress Punjab in-charge Harish Chaudhary had earlier said that Gandhi would announce the CM candidate on Sunday evening while addressing a virtual rally in Ludhiana.

There are reports that Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi will be the frontrunner for the top job.

The Congress has been seeking public opinion via phone calls on who should be the chief ministerial candidate, a move similar to the one taken by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party before it announced Bhagwant Mann as its face.

Sidhu has long coveted the CM’s job and has been launching direct attacks at his rival Channi for the past few days. He recently said that the party must choose someone “honest and with a clean track record”.

Sidhu almost made it to the top post when the party sacked his rival Amarinder Singh in September. But Singh’s replacement, Channi, has repeatedly made it clear that he is no placeholder.