Charanjit Singh Channi resigns as Chief Minister; Punjab Assembly dissolved

Chandigarh, March 11

Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Friday dissolved the 15th Vidhan Sabha, an official spokesperson here said, a day after results for the Assembly polls were announced.

The move comes after Charanjit Singh Channi submitted his resignation as Chief Minister to the Governor following the Congress Party’s drubbing in the Assembly polls.

The Channi-led Cabinet, which met for the last time on Friday, had recommended dissolution of the Assembly, paving the way for the constitution of a new Aam Aadmi Party-led legislature.

 “I have tendered my resignation to the Governor,” Channi, who went to the Raj Bhavan to hand over his resignation letter to the Governor, told reporters a day after the results.

The Congress was routed in the polls with AAP taking 92 seats in the 117-member Assembly, leaving it with only 18 seats. The AAP sweep decimated  the SAD-BSP combine as well. While the Shiromani Akali Dal got three seats, the BJP got two and the BSP just one.

Several stalwarts, including Channi, Parkash Singh Badal and Amarinder Singh, were defeated.

Channi lost both the seats he contested from. He was defeated by the AAP’s Labh Singh Ugoke with a margin of 37,558 votes from Bhadaur. He also lost from Chamkaur Sahib, where he was defeated by the AAP’s Charanjit Singh by a margin of 7,942 votes.