Congress tweets video hinting at Channi as CM face for Punjab polls, Sidhu camp plays it down

File photo of Charanjit Singh Channi (L) and Navjot Singh Sidhu (R) | PTI

A 36-second video posted by the Congress party on Twitter has set tongues wagging. Speculation is rife that the party may have just unofficially declared Charanjit Singh Channi as its chief ministerial candidate in Punjab.

Both CM Channi and Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu have expressed that the party should enter the poll fray with a chief ministerial face.

Congress high command, however, has shied away from making its stand clear despite cut-throat competition among leaders in its Punjab unit for the top post.

READ: Punjab polls: Denied ticket, Channi’s brother accuses Sidhu of ‘misguiding’ Congress high command

What is in the video?

The video is titled: “Punjab is speaking, now with hand (symbol of the Congress) – will strengthen every hand”.
It features actor Sonu Sood, who can be seen talking about the qualities of an ideal chief minister. What follows are clips of CM Charanjit Singh Channi with background music resembling the score of a Bollywood movie. No other Punjab Congress leader features in the video.

“The real chief minister or the real king is the one who is forcibly brought to the chair. He does not have to struggle. Do not have to tell him that I am the chief minister’s candidate, I deserve it. He should be someone who is a backbencher. He is someone who comes from behind and is told he is worthy of it (the post), whoever becomes that, can change the country,” Sonu Sood can be heard saying in the video.

, – pic.twitter.com/qQOZpnKItd

— Congress (@INCIndia) January 17, 2022

Promo team posted video: Source

Interestingly, the video was also retweeted by the Punjab Congress using its official Twitter handle.

Many reacted to the video by suggesting that Congress has decided to put its weight behind Charanjit Singh Channi as the party’s chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming assembly polls.

Even more interesting is the fact that Congress posted the video on Twitter barely hours after Delhi CM Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal said that he would declare the party’s chief ministerial candidate in Mohali on Tuesday.

A source close to Navjot Sidhu said that the video was the work of the Congress party’s “promo team” and social media war room.

“They often edit clips and put them on the social media handle to create buzz.”

Further, the source maintained that too much should not be read into it. The Congress party’s social media team also posts tweets featuring both Channi and Sidhu from time to time. This should not be seen as an official announcement or sanction by the Congress party high command, the source said.