Punjab polls: Does Congress have a Plan B for Punjab? Is 'sympathy factor, Scheduled Caste CM being targeted' translating into votes?

Rajmeet Singh

Chandigarh, February 4

As the Congress is building up the hype ahead of likely announcement of Charanjit Channi as the Chief Minister face in Punjab election on February 6, the ED is back to haunt the party in money laundering case involving Channi’s nephew, Bhupinder Honey.

Holding their horses, the party leaders are reassessing the situation as so far they have been claiming that the ED has not been able to establish any link between the seizures from Honey and Channi.

Chief Minister Channi has alleged that the ED was forcing his nephew to name him in the case, adding that, “I have no link with the seizures from my nephew.”

Sources say it was being monitored as to how the narrative of corruption being built up against Channi proves productive or counter-productive for the party.

The party strategists say that the party is building up the narrative of a Scheduled Caste CM being targeted and demoralised ahead of the polling on February 20. It is been seen whether the “sympathy factor” for Channi translates into votes.

Party insiders are saying that there was no plan B and it would go ahead with plan to announce the CM face at the earliest, knowing well that the CM face would be targeted in multiple ways by the Opposition. In a similar manner, Navjot Sidhu is also being targeted in multiple ways, they added.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, however, denounced it as a “political arrest, done to create pressure”.

“Channi is a Scheduled Caste CM, they want to hassle and demoralise him,” Kharge was quoted as saying to media.

Randeep Singh Surjewala took to twitter saying that with 15 days left for Punjab elections, BJP “election department” (ED) has been launched. Hinting at the chronology of events, he said the ED action was to

help chotta Modi (read Arvind Kejriwal) in Punjab.