Sixty-two-year-old Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa appears all set to become the new Chief Minister of Punjab.
While the official announcement is awaited, several Punjab legislators in Chandigarh confirmed Randhawa’s name has been finalised for the CM’s post.
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Congress leaders were seen visiting Randhawa’s official residence and security was also increased at his residence this morning.
With outgoing CM Captain Amarinder Singh opposing Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu as CM candidate, Randhawa emerged as consensus candidate leaving behind other contenders including Sidhu, Sunil Jakhar and Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa.
The jails and cooperation minister in the outgoing cabinet of Captain Amarinder Singh, Randhawa is known for consistent attack on the Badal clan for their alleged wrongdoings during the decade rule of the Parkash Singh Badal.
Randhawa has been raising lack of action against Badals specially in the cases of 2015 sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib in Punjab and the subsequent police firing in which two youths died.
Once a close aide of Amarinder, a frustrated Randhawa joined hands with Sidhu for Amarinder’s removal and was one of the four rebel ministers who led the campaign for the leadership in the state.
He too remained the target number one for the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) which has been alleging his closeness to a gangster.
A three-time Congress Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA), Randhawa hails from Gurdaspur district in the Majha region which includes the border districts of Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Amritsar and Tarn Taran. His father, Santokh Singh, was twice state Congress president and a very well-known figure in the Majha region.
Asked that his name was among the frontrunners, Randhawa replied he or his family “never hankers for any post”.
