Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Chandigarh: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday appointed Chamkaur Sahib legislator Charanjit Singh Chani as the next Congress Legislature Party leader in the Punjab Assembly, installing with him a young team of MLAs.
MLA from Ludhiana (West) Bharat Bhushan Ashu has been appointed the Deputy Congress Legislature Party leader, while Sultanpur Lodhi legislator Navtej Singh Cheema will be the chief whip of the Congress in the Punjab Assembly.
“The appointments have been finalised by the Congress chief and will be announced soon,” Congress general secretary in charge of Punjab Shakeel Ahmed told The Tribune on Friday.
Ahmed said the party consciously installed a young team in the Assembly to create a second line of leadership for the future.
Chani will replace Punjab Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh’s confidant Sunil Jakhar who had resigned as the CLP leader recently alongside former PCC chief Partap Bajwa who quit as the party unit chief, paving way for Capt.
Although Capt was pushing for Jakhar’s re-appointment, the Congress leadership struck a balance by installing a Dalit leader, as first reported by The Tribune.
Ashu, a loyalist of Bajwa, has also bagged an important role in the new team, indicating the high command’s attempt to balance clashing interests ahead of a crucial Assembly election in 2017.
