Rahul picks Channi as Congress Party’s CM candidate for Punjab, Sidhu loses battle for top post

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Former AICC chief Rahul Gandhi on Sunday declared Charanjit Singh Channi as the Congress’s Chief Ministerial candidate if the party wins the February 20 Assembly polls, putting to rest days of speculation and dashing the hopes Navjot Singh Sidhu who had locked horns with Channi for the top post. </p>
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Addressing a virtual rally in Ludhiana, Rahul Gandhi delivered a lengthy speech praising Sidhu and recollected his first encounter with the latter some 40 years ago when he was a student in Doon School at  Dehradun. Sidhu had visited Doon school to play a cricket match as a member of the Yadavindra Public School team from Patiala. Sidhu had taken 6 wickets and scored 98 runs as a bastman, Rahul recalled.</p>
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Rahul condoned the emotional behaviour of Sidhu saying," he is a bit emotional which is not a problem but his heart has good for Punjab written on it."</p>
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Rahul said that it was difficult to decide about the CM candidate but he consulted party workers, MLAs, office-bearers of the party, voters, youth and all of them favoured that a person who had seen poverty should be made the Chief Ministerial candidate. Hence, Channi was the one who had risen from poverty and understood the life of a common man, Rahul added.</p>
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Sidhu while addressing the rally in his fiery speech again repeated the need to implement his Punjab model eliminating mafias and corruption of all types.</p>
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Thanking Rahul Gandhi for making him PPCC president, Sidhu also added that if the workers of the party did not get respect and if the life of the people of Punjab did not improve, he would resign from all posts. If he is in the reckoning at least 4,000 important posts in the party and the government will be given to the workers and not to the relatives of MLAs. </p>
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Sidhu said that this time he would not be a showpiece but was ready to work in cooperation with anyone who is chosen as the CM.</p>
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Channi praised Sidhu's speech and got up to embrace him. "It is your day and you have swayed people by your speech," Channi said, referring to Sidhu.</p>
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Channi earlier said that in his 111-day government’s path-breaking decisions were taken. The government had opened its doors to the common man. Many pro-people decisions such as making electricity, water, petrol, and diesel cheaper for consumers were taken during this tenure, he added.  </p>
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After the declaration of his name as Chief Ministerial candidate, Channi while placating Sidhu said that now Sidhu's model of development would be implemented in case Congress's government was formed. </p>
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