Punjab ex-CM Charanjit Channi’s Dera Sachkhand Ballan visits spark off speculation

Deepkamal Kaur

Jalandhar, February 20

Even as the name of former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit S Channi has been doing rounds for contesting on the Congress ticket from the Jalandhar (reserved) Lok Sabha seat in the forthcoming elections, he was here yet again today to pay obeisance at Dera Sachkhand Ballan. This was perhaps his third visit to the dera in the past two months.

Channi brought offerings to the dera ahead of Guru Ravidas Jayanti. He met dera chief Sant Niranjan Das, spent few hours there and even partook of langar. Since the dera chief is slated to depart for Sri Guru Ravi Das Janam Sthan Mandir in Varanasi tomorrow via a special train, Channi chose to meet him and seek his blessings before his departure from here. He was accompanied by his son Navjeet Singh and a close associate Kamal Bhairon.

Channi also visited Dera Radha Soami Beas where he met its chief Baba Gurinder Singh and had an interaction with him today. He has been visiting other deras of Jalandhar too in the recent past.

Channi remains to be the front runner from among various likely claimants to the Jalandhar seat. Being a popular leader from the SC community here, he tops the chart among the winnable candidates. Karamjit Chaudhary, wife of former MP Chaudhary Santokh Singh who lost the Jalandhar bypoll last year, and former Jalandhar MP MS Kaypee are among others in race for the ticket.

Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party has also planned to hold a state-level programme on Guru Ravidas Jayanti on February 24. A shobha yatra is to be taken out a day before. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is also slated to be here for the celebrations. AAP leaders, including Minister Balkar Singh and Jalandhar MP Sushil Rinku, will be at the Jalandhar city railway station for the flagging off ceremony of the train tomorrow.