Charanjit Singh Channi is an Indian politician who served as the 16th

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

. He is a member of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

. He was also Minister of Technical Education and Training in

Second Amarinder Singh ministry Captain Amarinder Singh's second cabinet started from March 2017. Amarinder Singh is the leader of INC was sworn in the Chief Ministers of Punjab on 16 March 2017. His ministry had 17 Cabinet ministers including the Chief Minister as well as two ...

and

leader of the opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

in the

Punjab Legislative Assembly The Punjab Legislative Assembly or the Punjab Vidhan Sabha is the unicameral legislature of the state of Punjab in India. The Sixteenth Punjab Legislative Assembly was constituted in March 2022. At present, it consists of 117 members, directl ...

. He was the first

Dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the Caste system in India, castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold Varna (Hinduism), varna syste ...

to become the CM of Punjab.

Early life and education

Channi was born in the village of Makrauna Kalan,

. He studied law at

Panjab University Panjab University (PU) is a Collegiate university, collegiate public state university located in Chandigarh, Punjab. Funded through both Punjab, India, State and Government of India, Union governments, it is considered a state university (Indi ...

and has an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from

PTU Jalandhar I. K. Gujral Punjab Technical University (IKGPTU), formerly Punjab Technical University (PTU), is a State university located by Kapurthala highway in Kapurthala, India. It was established by an act of State Legislature on 16 January 1997, to p ...

. He belongs to the

Ramdasia The Ramdasia were historically a Sikh Hindu sub-group that originated from the caste of leather tanners and shoemakers known as Chamar Terminology Ramdasia is a term used in general for Sikhs whose ancestors belonged to Chamar caste. Origina ...

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

community. He is currently pursuing PhD from

Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which al ...

in topic related to Indian National Congress with Professor Emanual Nahar as his guide.

Early political career

Kharar municipal council

Channi started his political career as a municipal councillor from a ward in Kharar and was elected as the president of the Kharar municipal council in 2002.

Leader of opposition

Channi was

leader of opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

in the

from 2015 to 2016.

Cabinet minister

He was Minister of Technical Education and Training in

Chief Minister of Punjab

In September 2021, he succeeded Captain

Amarinder Singh Captain Amarinder Singh (born 11 March 1942), is an Indian politician, military historian, former royal and Indian Army veteran who served as the 15th Chief Minister of Punjab. A former Member of the Legislative Assembly, Punjab and Member ...

as Chief Minister of Punjab after the latter's

resignation Resignation is the formal act of leaving or quitting one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or choos ...

. He is the first

Chief Minister of Punjab. Commentators suggested that Punjab's large Dalit population and attempts by other parties to appeal to it may have influenced Congress's choice of Channi as Singh's successor. On 26 September fifteen new ministers were sworn in; several ministers from the

were retained. Soon after taking office, Channi made several policy announcements. On 21 September he promised action concerning a sacrilege case and said that the electricity bills of water works schemes would be waived and connections would be restored. On 23 September he stated "Class D" government jobs would be regularised; they were previously outsourced. In November 2021, Channi inaugurated his dream project ''Dastaan-e-Shahadat theme park'' at

Chamkaur Sahib Chamkaur Sahib is a Sub Divisional town in the district of Rupnagar in the Indian State of Punjab. It is famous for the First Battle of Chamkaur (1702) and the Second Battle of Chamkaur (1704) fought between the Mughals and Guru Gobind Singh. ...

. On 24 December 2021, Channi approved setting up Punjab State Commission for General Category. Congress leader Navjot Dahiya was appointed its first chairman. On 30 December 2021, Channi started free bus travel for students.

5 January 2022 episode

On 5 January 2022, in

Firozpur district Firozpur district, also known as Ferozepur district, is one of the twenty-three districts in the state of Punjab, India. Firozpur district comprises an area of . Firozpur (Ferozepur) is the capital city of the district. It is situated inside t ...

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...

's cavalcade was stranded for 15–20 minutes on flyover as protesting farmers blocked the Moga-Firozpur highway near Piarenana village far away while he was en route to

Hussainiwala National Martyrs Memorial Hussainiwala National Martyrs Memorial () in memory of the Indian freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Rajguru, is at Hussainiwala village, near Firozpur city in Firozpur district of the Punjab, India. A daily ''flag lowe ...

. Criticized by

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

, Channi denied any security lapse and stated he will recite Mahāmrityunjaya Mantra for PM's safety. In February 2022, Channi alleged that Modi has taken revenge by denying permission for his helicopter to fly from Chandigarh.

2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election

At the end of the legislative assembly term, Channi was appointed the Chief Ministerial candidate of Congress for the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections.

Navjot Singh Sidhu Navjot Singh Sidhu (born 20 October 1963) is an Indian National Congress politician, television personality and retired international cricketer. He is the former President of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee. Formerly, he was the Minister of To ...

was the other contender expecting to be the CM candidate. The official campaign was named ''Sada Channi, Sada CM'' (Our Channi, Our CM). Official campaign song ''Channi Karda Masle Hal'' by singer Surmandeep Mansa was launched in February 2022. He contested the

2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election Legislative Assembly elections were held in Punjab on 20 February 2022 to elect the 117 members of the 16th Assembly of the Punjab Legislative Assembly. The votes were counted and the results were declared on 10 March 2022. The Aam Aadmi P ...

from

and

Bhadaur Bhadaur is a town in Barnala district in the state of Punjab, India. It is part of the Bhadaur Assembly Constituency. History Bhadaur was an independent princely state till 1857, then it was brought under subordination of Patiala by British ...

legislative assembly constituencies, but lost both the seats to his opponents from the

Aam Aadmi Party The Aam Aadmi Party (; AAP) is a political party in India, as one of the national political parties. The AAP was founded in November 2012 by Arvind Kejriwal and his then-companions following the 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement, popular ...

. On 11 March 2022, Channi submitted his resignation to Governor. On 21 March 2022, he met and congratulated his successor

Bhagwant Mann Bhagwant Singh Mann (born 17 October 1973) is an Indian politician and current Chief Minister of Punjab. He leads the cabinet ministry of Punjab and is a member of the Aam Aadmi Party. He is a former actor, comedian and satirist. He previous ...

Electoral performance

Assembly elections from Chamkaur Sahib

Assembly election from Bhadaur

Channi was defeated by

Labh Singh Ugoke Labh Singh Ugoke is an Indian politician and the MLA in the Punjab Legislative Assembly representing the Bhadaur Assembly constituency in Punjab, India, since 2022. Prior to entering politics, he owned a mobile repair shop in his village. He i ...

Personal life and image

Channi is married to Kamaljit Kaur and has two children. He is known to follow astrologers for political gains, he illegally constructed a road from a park outside his official residence in Chandigarh to have east facing entry to his house. He rode an elephant in the lawns of his house in Kharar. In February 2018, Channi flipped a coin to decide the right candidate for the post of a lecturer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Channi, Charanjit Singh Living people 1963 births Chief Ministers of Punjab, India Chief ministers from Indian National Congress Indian National Congress politicians People from Punjab, India People from Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar district Punjab, India MLAs 2012–2017 Punjab, India MLAs 2017–2022 Punjabi people