Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said the party will go into the Punjab assembly polls with a CM face and the decision on it will be taken soon after consulting party workers.
The move comes a day after Channi reached out to Sidhu and offered to resolve issues through talks.
Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said his party will be asking the general public as to who should be the party's chief ministerial face in the Punjab Assembly polls, even as he indicated that his own preference for the post was state unit president Bhagwant Mann.
Punjab's daily COVID-19 count has been relatively low and on Tuesday, 635 new cases were recorded which pushed the active tally to 4853.
Navjot Singh Sidhu was not part of the Channi-led 'jatha' (group) which went to pay obeisance at the gurdwara.
Kejriwal then said that though he had wanted party MP Bhagwant Mann's name to be declared as the chief ministerial candidate, the latter insisted that the people of Punjab should make this decision.
It was a moment of immense pride and emotion for the family of Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur as she led Team India to their maiden ICC Women's World Cup title, defeating South Africa in the final at Navi Mumbai.
Sidhu, who had been attacking the AAP-led government in the state over various issues including the law and order situation, said Punjab's resurrection was possible only with a collective effort.
The Congress is likely to declare its chief ministerial face for Punjab on February 6 when former party chief Rahul Gandhi will visit the poll-bound state, party sources said.
Bhagwant Mann will take oath as the chief minister of Punjab on March 16 at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of iconic freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, party sources said on Friday after he met the party's national convener Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi.
Mann, 48, is a two-time MP from Sangrur and is the party's state unit chief.
In his resignation letter, Kishor stated that as he decided to take a temporary break from an active role in public life, he will not be able to discharge his duties as the principal advisor to the Punjab CM.
The AAP government in the state had earlier claimed that some of its MLAs were approached by the BJP with an offer of Rs 25 crore to each of them.
"You vote thinking that you are voting to make Arvind Kejriwal as the chief minister (of Punjab). Your vote is for Kejriwal," Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said.
Congress MP and former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi stoked controversy by demanding proof of the surgical strikes carried out by the Indian armed forces in Pakistan territory in the past under the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre.
Ahead of farmers' tractor parade in Delhi on Tuesday, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday appealed to farmers to ensure their rally remains peaceful as their stir against agri laws has been so far.
Singh (80) had floated the Punjab Lok Congress last year after quitting the Congress.
In a video message on Sunday, Mann also thanked the people of Punjab for their cooperation and said he does not want the youth to be misled by people with vested interests who run their shops by driving a campaign against the country.
He said people of Punjab can make him 'personally accountable' for all the works.
He also said he even declined the post of deputy chief minister offered by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to him.
'He was walking on the road when a car coming from Bhogpur hit him. He suffered head injuries and was taken to a private hospital where he died in the evening'
The incident is being seen as a major intelligence failure as the office houses the state counter intelligence wing, special task force and some other units.
Mann also asked the vigilance bureau to investigate the wealth amassed by the police officer through alleged "drug money".
Soon after taking the oath of office, the newly-sworn in Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi said his government is standing with farmers and will appeal to the Centre to withdraw the three farm laws.
Congress leader Charanjit Singh Channi was on Monday sworn in as the chief minister of Punjab, making him the first Dalit to hold the top post in the state.
In its first decision, the Punjab cabinet led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday approved filling up 25,000 vacant posts in various state departments, including 10,000 in the police force.
Opposition leaders in Punjab have claimed that the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) defeat in the Delhi Assembly polls signals the beginning of its downfall in the state as well. They cited the party's inability to deliver on promises and allegations of corruption as reasons for the setback in Delhi and predicted a similar fate for the AAP in Punjab, where it is currently in power.
Some media reports claimed he may meet some Bharatiya Janata Party leaders in Delhi after which Amarinder Singh's media advisor Raveen Thukral sought to clarify the reason for his visit.
The merger was sealed on Friday during a meeting between Badal and Rahul at the latter's residence here where Singh and All India Congress Committee General Secretary Shakeel Ahmad were also present, they said.
This will be the 49-year-old JMM leader's fourth stint as chief minister. Soren retained the Barhait seat, defeating BJP's Gamliyel Hembrom by a margin of 39,791 votes in the recent assembly polls.
Congress veteran and former Lok Sabha Speaker Shivraj Patil passed away at 90. He served as Union Home Minister and held several key posts during his long political career.
Nitish Kumar was sworn in as Bihar's Chief Minister for a record 10th time, extending his tenure and joining the list of longest-serving CMs in India.
Punjab Police detained several farmer leaders, including Sarwan Singh Pandher and Jagjit Singh Dallewal, while they were returning from a meeting with a central delegation in Chandigarh. The police also began evicting protesting farmers from the Shambhu and Khanauri border points, which have been closed for over a year. The action comes amid concerns from industrialists in Punjab over the prolonged closure of the border points, which they say has resulted in heavy losses. The meeting between the farmer leaders and the central delegation, led by Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, was inconclusive, but the next meeting is scheduled for May 4.
Singh stressed that if Punjab was able to meet its target of administering two lakh shots a day, then its current supplies will last only three days.
Channi slammed the AAP government over his date of appearance date being advanced and alleged it was part of the dispensation's "vendetta politics".
The ED action, sources said, has been initiated after taking cognisance of a 2018 FIR of the Punjab Police against some companies and individuals alleged to be involved in illegal sand mining in the state.
His remarks comes after AAP's national convenor Arvind Kejriwal held a meeting with CM Mann, Punjab ministers and MLAs at Kapurthala House in Delhi on Tuesday amid rumours of dissent in the party's Punjab unit.
Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rahul asked how could he stand with the Akali Dal when he always talks about eliminating corruption.
"Vijay Rupani was going to London by the Air India flight," said senior state BJP leader Bhupendrasinh Chudasama.
Raninder Singh has been asked to depose at the central probe agency's office in Jalandhar on October 27, they said.
