Ahead of the upcoming Vidhan Sabha polls in the State of Punjab, Congress is projecting incumbent Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi as the face of the party.
On Monday (January 17), the official Twitter handle of the Congress posted a video of actor Sonu Sood, indirectly endorsing Channi as the Chief Ministerial candidate. “The real CM/ King is the one who is directly given the throne… Such a leader does not need to struggle or prove to others that he is a deserving candidate. It is like taking a backbencher and giving him the throne,” he was heard as saying.
“Such a politician will have the ability to transform the country,” the Bollywood actor concluded. Although the short monologue of Sonu Sood did not name any political leader, the video was followed by images of Charanjit Singh Channi. With elections just a month away in Punjab, the Congress party seems to have thrown its weight behind the incumbent Punjab CM.
बोल रहा पंजाब, अब पंजे के साथ- मजबूत करेंगे हर हाथ। pic.twitter.com/qQOZpnKItd
— Congress (@INCIndia) January 17, 2022
The video was also retweeted by the official Twitter handle of the Punjab Congress. The development comes hours after Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal announced that the name of the party’s Chief Ministerial candidate will be declared on Tuesday (January 18).
Interestingly, the video not just ‘presents’ Channi in a Bollywood style ‘hero-entry’ sequence, it also indirectly takes a dig on Sidhu, insinuating that ‘real’ CMs do not have to fight for the CM’s post.
With speculations on the rise about Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu being sidelined by the grand old party, a source from the ‘Sidhu camp’ tried to downplay the significance of the video posted by the official Twitter handle of the Congress.
While speaking to India Today, the source claimed that the video featuring Sonu Sood and Charanjit Singh Channi was posted by the social media war room and ‘promo team’ of the party. “They often edit clips and put them on the social media handle to create buzz,” he added. The source claimed that the party’s social media team tweets about both Sidhu and CM Channi from time to time.
He concluded, “This should not be seen as an official announcement or sanction by the Congress party high command.” On Monday (January 17), the Election Commission of India (ECI) informed that the Vidhan Sabha elections for the State of Punjab had been re-scheduled from February 14 to February 20 this year.
