Here Is The Statement On Navjot Singh Sidhu From Uttarakhand Congress Leader Harish Rawat That Sunil Jakhar Finds 'Baffling'

A statement from senior leader from Uttarakhand Congress and former chief minister Harish Rawat has triggered a reaction from former Punjab unit president Sunil Jakhar. Jakhar said in a post on Twitter that Rawat's statement on the swearing-in day of the new Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Channi "is baffling".

He stated that Rawat’s announcement on the day Channi's swearing in as the new chief minister could not only undermine the CM's authority "but also negate the very ‘raison d’être’ of his selection for this position."

Times Now says on its website that Punjab Congress in-charge Rawat said on 19 September (Sunday) that the 2022 assembly elections will be fought under the leadership of Navjot Singh Sidhu.

The report said that Rawat told the ANI: "It (Congress face for upcoming state assembly polls) will be decided by the Congress president, but given the circumstances, elections will be fought with the Chief Minister's cabinet under Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, whose chief is Navjot Singh Sidhu, who is very popular."

Congress selected Channi for the Chief Minister's post a day after Amarinder Singh resigned following a power tussle in the Congress. Jakhar was said to be one of the front-runners for the top post in Punjab in sections of the media. Rawat's role in Punjab politics comes at a time when his home state Uttarakhand is going to assembly election in 2022.

Rawat's participation in the party's campaign in Haridwar is of importance but his role in Punjab has been a demanding one owing to the ups and downs within the party. The Aam Aadmi Party is trying to gain ground in the hill state. Congress will be fighting against the Bharatiya Janata Party in Uttarakhand under the leadership of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami who comes from Khatima in the Kumaon region.