CHANDIGARH: Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi went to Delhi on Thursday evening — the second time in as many days — for another round of deliberations by the party high command to finalise the names of his council of ministers. Outgoing ministers who have been embroiled in controversies are likely to be left out of the cabinet expansion.
Channi was sworn in as the chief minister on Monday and Congress leaders Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and OP Soni as ministers in the state cabinet.
Senior Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi returned to Delhi on Wednesday late evening and the list of cabinet ministers is likely to be out soon.
In Delhi, Channi met AICC in-charge of Punjab affairs Harish Rawat at Punjab Bhawan for the final round of talks on appointments in the Punjab government in consultation with the high command.
Dilemma over induction of certain MLAs into cabinet
Meetings continued late into the night and after meeting Rawat, Channi had an interaction with KC Venugopal and then headed to meet senior party leader Rahul Gandhi.
There has been a dilemma over the induction of certain MLAs, especially over giving due representation to various communities and regions. There are multiple claimants in some cases. There was also brainstorming over the exclusion of certain outgoing ministers," said a party leader.
Former PPCC chief Sunil Jakhar too had accompanied Rahul and Priyanka from Chandigarh to Delhi on Wednesday and his feedback on the changes is likely to be factored in.
Earlier, Channi and PPCC president Navjot Singh Sidhu had gone to Delhi on Tuesday and handed over the list of proposed names for the cabinet to the party leaders. However, Rahul was holidaying in Shimla then.
"Various factors will have to be borne in mind while deciding the new cabinet. While at least three of former CM Amarinder Singh’s loyalists are set to face the axe, there is also a fear that too many changes could lead to a fresh round of dissidence in the party," said a party leader.
Gandhis placate Jakhar
Sources said that Rahul and Priyanka tried to placate a "miffed" Jakhar as the latter had narrowly lost the race to be the next chief minister after Amarinder Singh resigned on Saturday. Jakhar is believed to have told the central leadership that he will continue to be loyal to the Congress and was not nursing any grudges. Meanwhile, he is likely to be rehabilitated at a suitable position in the days to come. Meanwhile, Rawat too is believed to have reached out to Jakhar and sought his cooperation in running the state unit affairs.
Lobbying on
Sources said many Congress leaders too had leaders for Delhi. Congress working president Sangat Singh Giljian and outgoing finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal too reached Delhi, besides other party MLAs including Gurkirat Singh Kotli. Many among the party MLAs are seeing the Cabinet formation as a chance to corner a Cabinet berth.
