Dalit In A Private Jet: AAP Shades CS Channi In New Constituency

Three hours from Chandigarh, in the region of Malwa, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi officially began his run today as the candidate from Bhadaur.

"I am like Sudama who has come to the Malwa region and the people here are like Krishna who will take care of me," the 58-year-old said, declaring himself an outsider seeking the support of voters.

Malwa is, in fact, a bastion of support for Mr Channi's rival, the Aam Aadmi Party, which, according to opinion polls, is the leading contender in the election scheduled for February 20. Malwa has 69 assembly seats, one of which has now been allocated to the Chief Minister by the Congress. He is also contesting the election from his traditional constituency of Chamkaur Sahib, which he has won three times.

The fact that Mr Channi is contesting two constituencies is seen as a signal that within his party, he has edged past Navjot Singh Sidhu to emerge as its first choice for Chief Minister.

The Congress has made it clear that it prefers to wait till after the election results to usually pick its Chief Minister, but this time around, cornered by the rival claims of two strong leaders, it will seek feedback from the Congress cadre to name a presumptive Chief Minister.

"Normally, we do not declare a Chief Minister face but if Congress workers want, we will select a face as well. But we will consult Congress workers. They will decide," said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi last week, flanked by both Mr Channi and Mr Sidhu.

Mr Channi was made Chief Minister of Punjab in September after the Congress decided to ditch Captain Amarinder Singh as its anchor in Punjab.

Captain, as he is known, said the party of which he served as a member for five decades, had heaped humiliation on him by refusing to gag-order Mr Sidhu, who was running a high-decibel and very public anti-Captain campaign. At the age of 79, Captain has formed his own party and is in a new alliance with the BJP.

Mr Sidhu, despite Captain's exit, did not get his dream gig as head of the government; instead Mr Gandhi selected Mr Channi, a popular Dalit leader, as the new Chief Minister, seen at the time as a canny move to thwart Arvind Kejriwal's AAP, which, in the last election five years ago, placed runner-up, a big feat for a newbie outfit with its roots in Delhi. Punjab has never been led by a Dalit, though the community forms 31.9 percent of the population.

The huge promotion for Mr Channi enabled the Congress to claim it works for - and delivers - the empowerment of India's most vulnerable.

Mr Kejriwal has announced that his party's candidate for Chief Minister is Bhagwant Singh Mann, AAP's only member of parliament in Lok Sabha.

Mr Mann said a few days ago that when he was offered the nomination, he demurred, insisting on "the people" making their choice. So, AAP held a phone-in poll which provided the desired outcome for Mr. Mann.

Malwa is loyal largely to Mr Mann, who represents the area in parliament.

In the last state election, AAP won Badhaur and the Akali Dal ranked second. The Congress was third; except for once, it has not won the constituency in the last 50 years.

"This is a reserved constituency," said AAP's candidate Labh Singh Ugoke about Bhadaur which is bookmarked for candidates from Scheduled Castes. "Mr Channi is an outsider. If he is a Dalit, so am I. The people will choose between a commoner like me and a Dalit who flies in a private plane."

Days after Mr Channi was made Chief Minister, he used a private jet to fly to meet Congress leaders in Delhi, inciting strong criticism.