Arvind Kejriwal questions Congress over Sunil Jakhar exclusion as Punjab CM candidate

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday questioned Congress in Punjab over its electoral tactics ahead of the assembly elections in the state.

Chandigarh:Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday questioned Congress in Punjab over its electoral tactics ahead of the assembly elections in the state. Angling towards the infighting within Congress, Kejriwal asked why the name of Sunil Jakhar, the former president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, was not considered as a Chief Ministerial Candidate.

"Congress is asking people in Punjab to choose between Channi ji and Sidhu ji as the CM face. Why did Congress not include Jakhar ji's name?", Kejriwal tweeted out earlier on Thursday.

The Delhi CM's tweet comes after a significant reveal by Jakhar of late, where he had stated that out of 79 Congress MLAs in the state, 42 had voted for him in an internal referendum, with only two voting for CM Charanjit Channi. Despite this, Channi became the Chief Minister.

On the other hand, Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Raghav Chadha made a serious allegation on Thursday, saying that Jakhar was not selected as a Chief Ministerial candidate because he was Hindu.

"Sunil Jakhar Saab is being treated as a second-class citizen by Congress. Excluding him from the list of CM candidates probably merely because he's a Hindu reveals the deep-rooted communal politics of Congress. His competence & experience is sacrificed at the altar of religious politics", Chadha tweeted out on Thursday, while retweeting Kejriwal's comment.

He further claimed that Congress wanted to sow 'seeds of hatred' in Punjab.

Speculations have erupted following Jakhar's comments, which came during the election rallies.

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal, meanwhile, has suggested Jakhar resign, noting that the latter has been "pushed around by the Congress".