Cong to announce CM face in Punjab after consulting party workers: Rahul
Darpan News Desk IANS, 27 Jan, 2022 01:24 PM
Chandigarh, Jan 27 (IANS) Indicating that the Congress will go into the Punjab polls with a CM face in place, party leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday categorically said that it will announce a chief ministerial candidate after consulting the party workers.
Both Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu have urged Rahul Gandhi to announce a CM face well ahead of the polls, instead of going with the collective leadership.
"Both (Channi and Sidhu) have assured me that they will help whoever is named as the CM face," said Rahul Gandhi, who kickstarted Congress' election campaign in Punjab on Thursday after paying obeisance at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
At the same time, he said that there should be a dedicated manifesto for the women of Punjab.
Flanked by Chief Minister Channi and Sidhu, Rahul also paid obeisance at the Durgiana Mandir and Bhagwan Valmiki temple in Amritsar.
After partaking 'Langar' with Sidhu and Channi at the Golden Temple, Rahul Gandhi held a meeting with the party candidates with the message 'Navi Soch, Nava Punjab'.
Later, the Congress leader started the campaign by addressing a virtual rally from Jalandhar.
The Congress has so far fielded 109 candidates for the 117-member Punjab Assembly that will go to the polls on February 20. The names of the remaining candidates are yet to be announced.
The counting of votes will be taken up on March 10.
The highest quantity has been procured from Punjab (1,86,85,53 MT) followed by Chhattisgarh (67,65,986 MT) and Telangana (65,54,739 MT) while the highest number of farmers benefitted in are Chhattisgarh (16,90,459), Telangana (9,67,134) and Punjab (9,24,299).
Hockey is one of the most popular sports in Punjab and many players from the state have been integral parts of the national team. The 117-member Punjab Assembly will go to the polls on February 14, while the counting of votes will be taken up on March 10.
The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Registrar General of Punjab and Haryana High Court to secure and preserve all records in connection with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Punjab, and also asked the state and Central committees to refrain from conducting inquiries till Monday, when it will take up the matter again.
India on Friday revised the existing guidelines for all international arrivals in India in view of the rising Covid cases and the Omicron threat, to make seven days home quarantine mandatory. The new guidelines will be effective from January 11 till further notice.
On Wednesday, the Prime Minister's rally in Ferozepur had to be cancelled due to a security lapse after some protesters blocked a route and forced his convoy to spend about 20 minutes on a flyover. The Prime Minister was enroute the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala when the incident happened.
On Thursday, senior BJP leaders including chief ministers of the party ruled states offered prayers at temples across the country for the well-being and long life of Prime Minister Modi after his security was breached in Punjab on January 5.
