Former Punjab Congress President Sunil Jakhar is frontrunner for the post of Chief Minister, reports suggested as party wants to project non Sikh face ahead of polls to counter AAP which is gaining ground in the state.
Sources say that party wants a Sikh, Navjot Singh Sidhu as state party chief and non Sikh combination in the polls. Other name doing the rounds is of Pratap Singh Bajwa.
The MLAs of Sidhu's camp may put forward the name of former Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar as their choice for chief minister of Punjab.
While Jakhar is not even a MLA, he has been previously elected three times consecutively Abohar constituency from 2002 till 2017. Jakhar was a Leader of opposition in Punjab Vidhan Sabha from 2012 to 2017.
On 7 January 2017, Jakhar sent a complaint to the Punjab chief election officer alleging that local Shiromani Akali Dal leader Shivlal Doda and his nephew Waris and others used seven different mobile numbers while in a Fazilka prison.
He first became a member of Punjab Vidhan Sabha from Abohar in 2002. In 2007 and 2012, he was re-elected from Abohar. He became member of parliament after winning a by-election in Gurdaspur.
Meanwhile, a resolution was passed in the meeting of the Congress Legislative Party in Chandigarh that the new chief minister would be decided by the party high command.
Amarinder Singh skipped the Punjab Congress Legislative Party meeting.
(With inputs from agencies)
