Congress to announce CM candidate soon for Punjab polls: Rahul Gandhi

After kicking off the Punjab Assembly election campaign in Amritsar, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said the party will go into the Punjab Assembly polls with a CM face and the decision regarding it will be taken soon after consulting party workers.

Rahul Gandhi made the statement while addressing a virtual rally in Jalandhar. He said that Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and state party president Navjot Singh Sidhu have assured him that whoever is chosen as the CM face will be supported by the other.

"Normally, we don't do this but if the Congress party, our workers and Punjab want this, we will take a decision on the CM face," he said.

"We will take this decision after consulting our workers. Others will work as a team," he said, adding that the demand for declaring a chief ministerial face will be met as soon as possible.

Rahul said both Channi and Sidhu told him that the biggest question in Punjab is who will lead the Congress in the state.

"Media people call it the chief ministerial candidate. Both Sidhu and Channi gave me an assurance that two people cannot lead and only one can lead. Both told me whoever leads, the other will put all his energy behind him," said Gandhi.

Earlier in his address, Sidhu said people want clarity who will implement the agenda and roadmap, to which Channi later said he was never after any post and he will wholeheartedly back the decision regarding the CM candidate’s name whenever it is announced.