Charanjit Singh Channi (born 15 March 1963) is an Indian politician who served as the 16th

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

. He is a member of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

. He is serving as a

Member of the Lok Sabha A Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha (abbreviated: MP) is the representative of a legislative constituency in the Lok Sabha; the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of parliament of Lok Sabha are chosen by direct elections on ...

from

Jalandhar Lok Sabha constituency Jalandhar Lok Sabha constituency (formerly known as Jullundur Lok Sabha constituency) is one of the 13 Lok Sabha constituencies in Punjab state in northern India. Assembly segments Presently, after delimitation, this constituency comprises th ...

since 4 June 2024. He was also Minister of Technical Education and Training in Second Amarinder Singh ministry and

leader of the opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

in the

Punjab Legislative Assembly The Punjab Legislative Assembly or the Punjab Vidhan Sabha is the unicameral legislature of the state of Punjab (India), Punjab in India. The Sixteenth Punjab Legislative Assembly was constituted in March 2022. At present, it consists of 117 M ...

Early life and education

Channi was born in the village of Makrauna Kalan,

. He studied law at

Panjab University Panjab University (PU) is an Indian collegiate public state university located in Chandigarh. Funded through both State and Union governments, it is considered a state university. It traces its origins to the University of the Punjab in Lahor ...

and has an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

from

PTU Jalandhar I. K. Gujral Punjab Technical University (IKGPTU), formerly Punjab Technical University (PTU), is a public state university in Kapurthala, Punjab, India established by an Act of State Legislature on 16 January 1997. Renaming In recognition o ...

. He was awarded

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in the 70th convocation of

(PU) by

Vice Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth countr ...

Renu Vig in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

in topic related to

with Professor Emanual Nahar as his guide. Now he is

Holder in

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

. He belongs to the

Dalit Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold var ...

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

Community.

Early political career

Kharar municipal council

Channi started his political career as a municipal councillor from a ward in Kharar and was elected as the president of the Kharar municipal council in 2002.

Leader of opposition

Channi was

leader of opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

in the

from 2015 to 2016.

Cabinet minister

He was Minister of Technical Education and Training in Second Amarinder Singh ministry.

Chief Minister of Punjab

In September 2021, he succeeded Captain

Amarinder Singh Amarinder Singh (born 11 March 1942) is an Indian politician, military historian, former royal and Indian Army veteran who served as the 15th Chief Minister of Punjab. His father, Yadavindra Singh, was the last Maharaja of the princely st ...

as Chief Minister of Punjab after the latter's

resignation Resignation is the formal act of relinquishing or vacating one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or ...

. He is the first

Chief Minister of Punjab. Commentators suggested that Punjab's large Dalit population and attempts by other parties to appeal to it may have influenced Congress's choice of Channi as Singh's successor. On 26 September fifteen new ministers were sworn in; several ministers from the Second Amarinder Singh ministry were retained. Soon after taking office, Channi made several policy announcements. On 21 September he promised action concerning a sacrilege case and said that the electricity bills of water works schemes would be waived and connections would be restored. On 23 September he stated "Class D" government jobs would be regularised; they were previously outsourced. In November 2021, Channi inaugurated his dream project ''Dastaan-e-Shahadat theme park'' at Chamkaur Sahib. On 24 December 2021, Channi approved setting up Punjab State Commission for General Category. Congress leader Navjot Dahiya was appointed its first chairman. On 30 December 2021, Channi started free bus travel for students.

5 January 2022 episode

On 5 January 2022, in

Firozpur district Firozpur district, also known as Ferozepur district, is one of the twenty-three districts in the state of Punjab, India. Firozpur district comprises an area of . Firozpur (Ferozepur) is the capital city of the district. It is situated inside t ...

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

's cavalcade was stranded for 15–20 minutes on flyover as protesting farmers blocked the Moga-Firozpur highway near Piarenana village far away while he was en route to

Hussainiwala National Martyrs Memorial Hussainiwala National Martyrs Memorial () in memory of the Indian freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Rajguru, is at Hussainiwala village, near Firozpur city in Firozpur district of the Punjab, India. A daily ''flag loweri ...

. Criticized by

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

, Channi denied any security lapse and stated he will recite

Mahāmrityunjaya Mantra The ''Mahamrityunjaya Mantra'' (), also known as the ''Rudra Mantra'' or ''Tryambakam Mantra'', is a verse (''ṛc'') of the ''Rigveda'' (RV 7.59.12). The ''ṛc'' is addressed to Tryambaka, "The Three-eyed One", an epithet of Rudra who is iden ...

for PM's safety. In February 2022, Channi alleged that Modi has taken revenge by denying permission for his helicopter to fly from Chandigarh.

2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election

At the end of the legislative assembly term, Channi was appointed the Chief Ministerial candidate of Congress for the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections.

Navjot Singh Sidhu Navjot Singh Sidhu (born 20 October 1963) is an Indian former cricketer, television personality and politician from the Indian National Congress. He is the former President of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee. Formerly, he was the Minister of ...

was the other contender expecting to be the CM candidate. The official campaign was named ''Sada Channi, Sada CM'' (Our Channi, Our CM). Official campaign song ''Channi Karda Masle Hal'' by singer Surmandeep Mansa was launched in February 2022. He contested the

2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election Legislative Assembly elections were held in Elections in Punjab, India, Punjab on 2022 elections in India, 20 February 2022 to elect the List of constituencies of the Punjab Legislative Assembly, 117 members of the Sixteenth Punjab Legislative ...

from Chamkaur Sahib and

Bhadaur Bhadaur is a town in Barnala district in the state of Punjab, India. It is part of the Bhadaur Assembly Constituency. History Bhadaur was an independent princely state till 1857, then it was brought under subordination of Patiala by British ...

legislative assembly constituencies, but lost both the seats to his opponents from the

Aam Aadmi Party The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP, ) is a List of political parties in India, political party in India. It was founded on 26 November 2012 by Arvind Kejriwal and his then-companions, following the 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement against then gover ...

. On 11 March 2022, Channi submitted his resignation to Governor. On 21 March 2022, he met and congratulated his successor

Bhagwant Mann Bhagwant Singh Mann (born 17 October 1973), better known by his stage name "Jugnu", is an Indian politician, social worker, former comedian, singer and actor who is currently serving as the 17th Chief Minister of Punjab since 2022. He represen ...

Electoral performance

2024 Indian general election: Jalandhar

Source:

Assembly elections from Chamkaur Sahib

Assembly election from Bhadaur

Channi was defeated by

Labh Singh Ugoke Labh Singh Ugoke is an Indian politician and the MLA in the Punjab Legislative Assembly representing the Bhadaur Assembly constituency in Punjab, India, since 2022. Prior to entering politics, he owned a mobile repair shop in his village. He i ...

Personal life and image

Channi is married to Kamaljit Kaur and has two children. He rode an elephant in the lawns of his house in Kharar.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Channi, Charanjit Singh Living people 1963 births Chief ministers of Punjab, India Chief ministers from Indian National Congress Indian National Congress politicians from Punjab, India People from Rupnagar district People from Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar district Punjab, India MLAs 2012–2017 Punjab, India MLAs 2017–2022 India MPs 2024–2029 Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance candidates in 2024 Indian general election Lok Sabha members from Punjab, India Leaders of the opposition in Punjab, India Punjab, India MLAs 2007–2012