Putting an end to speculation, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi declared Charanjit Singh Channi as the party’s chief ministerial pick for the upcoming Punjab Assembly election during his visit to Ludhiana on Sunday. Announcing the Congress's CM face, Rahul Gandhi said as per the people's suggestion, the party wanted to have a chief minister from a poor background who understands the pain of the lower classes.

Meanwhile, former Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar quit active electoral politics on Sunday.  In an exclusive interview with India Today, Jakhar said, “There is no dearth of people in our party who are capable of becoming CM. Sidhu sahib (Navjot Singh Sidhu) must have also felt the pain”.