Congress finalises leadership for Punjab polls

NEW DELHI: Finalising the state leadership under which party will contest the upcoming assembly elections, Congress has decided to stick with Amarinder Raja Warring as president of Punjab unit while appointing Dalit leader and former CM Charanjit Channi as the chairman of the campaign committee. Partap Singh Bajwa will continue to be the leader of opposition in state. Besides, AICC appointed former MP Vijay Inder Singla as chairman of the election management committee and also named three working presidents in Sukhwinder Singh Danny, Rajkumar Verka and Sangat Singh Gilzian. Lok Sabha MP Amar Singh has been named as the chairman of manifesto committee. The decision to stick with Warring as Punjab Congress chief follows strong advice given by in-house managers who had argued that it was too late for any change at the top. It was also stressed that unity of organisation and workers would be key to Congress's performance, and a change could foment divisions in the ranks. The appointment of Channi to the vital campaign committee panel is a signal to the important and populous Dalit community.