On a day when the Congress is likely to announce its chief ministerial face for the Punjab assembly elections, expected to be either the incumbent CM Charanjit Singh Channi or state unit chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, a rebel Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA claimed on Sunday that Sunil Jakhar, Sidhu’s predecessor in the post, has retired from politics.
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“A lot of unfortunate news emanating out of Punjab. Just heard the @suniljakhar is calling it quits due to unwarranted, irresponsible comments of his @INCPunjab colleagues. Sad to see a gentlemen politician go out at a crucial juncture,” tweeted Kanwar Sandhu, the legislator from the Kharar assembly constituency.
Sandhu also said he is hopeful Jakhar will reconsider his decision. “Being a journalist known @sunilkjakhar , the gentleman and a friend for long. Hope he will revisit his decision to quit active politics, and regale us with his witty one liners and we will also continue to get benefit of his poetic wisdom,” he posted.
Sandhu’s tweets come just days after Jakhar, who was reportedly in the running to succeed Captain Amarinder Singh as chief minister after the latter resigned in September last year, claimed that out of 79 Punjab Congress MLAs, as many as 42 wanted him to succeed Singh, while only two favoured Channi, who eventually got the nod.
Also last year, Jakhar stepped aside to make way for Sidhu, who was made the president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) at the height of the cricketer-turned-politician’s bitter feud with Amarinder Singh, who has since left the Sonia Gandhi-headed party, and formed the Punjab Lok Congress (PLC).
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Assembly elections in Punjab will take place in a single-phase, on February 20; the date was revised from February 14. The counting of votes for all 117 constituencies will be held on March 10.
