After serving as Punjab's sitting Chief Minister, Charanjit Singh Channi lost both Chamkaur Sahib and Bhadaur in the 2022 Assembly elections. He then spent months away from active Punjab politics before returning to lead a fresh show of strength, with nearly 60 Congress leaders backing him for a bigger role in Punjab. This raises a question: On what political mandate is Channi seeking to lead the Punjab Congress ? Should a leader who lost both his seats and stayed away after defeat now become the face of the party's revival, or does his brief tenure as Chief Minister deserve another chance ?
पंजाब के कार्यवाहक मुख्यमंत्री रहते हुए चरणजीत सिंह चन्नी 2022 विधानसभा चुनाव में चमकौर साहिब और भदौड़, दोनों सीटों से चुनाव हार गए। इसके बाद वे कई महीनों तक पंजाब की सक्रिय राजनीति से दूर रहे। अब वही चन्नी करीब 60 कांग्रेस नेताओं के समर्थन के साथ पंजाब कांग्रेस में बड़ी भूमिका की मांग कर रहे हैं। ऐसे में सवाल उठता है: आखिर किस राजनीतिक जनादेश के आधार पर चन्नी पंजाब कांग्रेस का नेतृत्व चाहते हैं ? क्या दोनों सीटों से हारने और हार के बाद राजनीति से दूरी बनाने वाले नेता को पार्टी के पुनरुत्थान का चेहरा बनाया जाना चाहिए, या फिर मुख्यमंत्री के रूप में उनका छोटा कार्यकाल उन्हें एक और मौका देने का आधार बनता है ?
From Captain Amarinder Singh's exit in 2021 to the latest discontent over retaining Raja Warring, with Charanjit Singh Channi's supporters now openly expressing resentment, the Punjab Congress once again finds itself battling its own internal fault lines. Time and again, the party appears to be cutting off the branch it is sitting on, only to wonder later why it keeps losing balance. One uncomfortable question refuses to go away: Why can the Punjab Congress never seem to learn from its own mistakes ? Has the party become trapped in a cycle of repeating history instead of rewriting it ? Can a party that is forever busy firefighting within ever convince the people that it is ready to govern without ?
