ED Raids on Kin Leaves Punjab CM Channi on the Back Foot but Aides Say Party Rallying Around Him

Even as the internecine battle over who will lead Punjab Congress in the upcoming assembly election rages, raids by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s nephew seem to have added fuel to the fire. While a section in the party believes it may have dented Channi’s chances of being declared the chief ministerial face, his supporters say it will only help the party’s high command to rally around him.

With the ED coming out with details on recoveries being made from the premise of Bhupinder Singh Honey, including cash and expensive watches, the chief minister could find himself on the back foot. The opposition has already got ammunition to fire at Channi. But for his detractors within the Congress, this may not have come at a better time. The CM and Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu are locked in a fierce battle over staking claim for the “CM face”.

Channi has rejected the raids as “political vendetta”, but many insiders believe that the recovery of money unaccounted for from his relative could actually give an advantage to the Sidhu camp. Leaders close to Sidhu said with Channi’s image taking a “beating”, it was the Punjab Congress chief who could stake a claim for leading the party in the elections.

But Channi’s aides are not ruffled. To begin with, they believe that despite the raids, the high command is standing right behind him. The top brass of the party was quick to approach the EC, flaying the raids and backing Channi. Also, a recent Twitter poll conducted by Rahul Gandhi’s aide Nikhil Alva, too, projected Channi as being the favoured choice with 68.7 per cent of the votes.

The only official reaction from Channi after the raids was that they had been conducted to target him and tarnish his image, and that he had sought the party’s permission to file a case of defamation against AAP leader and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.

Sidhu has not yet reacted to these developments. The Akalis, not wanting to miss out on an opportunity to flay the ruling party, said if they spoke of Akali Dal leader Bikram Majithia being targeted, then the Congress’ explanation was the law taking its course but if the ED targeted Channi’s relatives, then it was politics of vendetta. The opposition parties have gone on to say the fact that the CM’s relatives were charged with illegal sand mining also spoke volumes about the government’s claims of taking action against the sand mafia.

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