Punjab to have 2 deputy CMs, a Jat Sikh and a Hindu

Congress leader Sukhjinder Randhawa and Brahm Mohindra will be two deputies to Punjab's Chief Minister-designate Charanjit Singh Channi, said party leader Pawan Kumar Bansal on Sunday.

Taking to Twitter, Bansal also congratulated Charanjit Singh Channi for his elevation as a Punjab chief minister.

'Heartiest congratulations to Charanjit Singh Channi for elevation as PunjabCM and Brahm Mohindra and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa as Dy CMs. Best wishes for their grand success in the service of Punjab under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi (sic),' he tweeted.

On Sunday, Channi was unanimously elected as the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party of Punjab and is set to take over as next chief minister following Captain Amarinder Singh's resignation.

After the announcement of the new chief minister, Punjab Congress in-charge Harish Rawat said that there will also be two deputy chief ministers in the state.

'One deputy chief minister will be from the Jat Sikh community and the other will be from the Hindu community,' Rawat told ANI.

Sources had earlier said among one would be a Jat Sikh for which MLA from Dera Baba Nanak Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa's name is being considered while from Hindu community probables include Brahm Singh Mohindra (MLA from Patiala rural), Vijay Inder Singla (MLA from Sangrur) and Bharat Bhushan Ashu (Punjab Food, Civil Supplies, and Consumer Affairs Minister).

Channi, 49, is slated to take oath as Punjab's 16th chief minister on Monday, a few months before the 2022 assembly polls in the state. The swearing-in ceremony will be held at 11.00 am in Chandigarh.

Amarinder Singh on Saturday submitted his resignation to state Governor Banwarilal Purohit, following months of infighting between him and Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief Navjot Singh Sidhu.

Channi -- a three-time MLA from Rupnagar's Chamkaur Sahib -- will be Punjab's first Dalit chief minister.