Chandigarh

Congress legislator Charanjit Singh Channi took oath as Punjab's 16th Chief Minister on Monday.

Channi a three-time MLA from Rupnagar's Chamkaur Sahib will be Punjab's first Dalit Chief Minister. He has served as Technical Education Minister in the Captain Amarinder Singh government.

According to the official website of the Punjab Government, Channi remained Municipal Councilor for three terms and moved on to become the President of Municipal Council Kharar for two terms.

He was elected to the Punjab Vidhan Sabha from Chamkaur Sahib Consistency for the first time in 2007. He was elected to the assembly seat again in 2012 and then in 2017. In 2015, Channi was elected as Leader of the Opposition in the 14th Punjab Vidhan Sabha.

In 2017, he was appointed as the Cabinet Minister for Technical Education and Industrial Training, Employment Generation and also Science and Technology in the government of Punjab

On Sunday, after several rounds of parleys, Channi, Punjab's first Dalit Chief Minister, was selected for the post by the party high command, following Captain Amarinder Singh's resignation.

Earlier today, leader Pawan Kumar Bansal informed that party leader Sukhjinder Randhawa and Brahm Mohindra will serve as two deputies to Punjab's Chief Minister Channi.

Amarinder Singh on Saturday submitted his resignation to state Governor Banwarilal Purohit, following months of infighting between him and Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief Navjot Singh Sidhu.

These development came months before the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections.