According to some observers of the Punjab election scene, the Congress faces no challenge from any of the other parties in the fray. They garnish this with the assertion that Channi comes rolled-gold and the man has gained so much popularity in three months that main rival in the chief ministerial stakes Navjot Singh Sidhu couldn’t with years cackling in India’s version of Comedy Central!

There is a grain of truth in that. Channi has in the shortest time conquered the minds and hearts of the Punjab electorate. The ‘Congressi’ among them cannot but marvel at the miracle. It is Jesus showing the way and pointing out the man, say the most fervent, though it’s clear as day that it’s not Jesus but the Gandhi family's hand over Channi’s head.

Till three months ago, Channi was nowhere in the picture. Nobody knew him, by name or sight. Then Sidhu created a ruckus over Capt. Amarinder Singh and the Capt., went out in a halo of nothingness and Sidhu thought ‘Here I come!’ But Rahul Gandhi had another thing coming and Sidhu got the boot and Channi the CM’s suit.

Sidhu is waiting. Nobody can trust Sidhu which side he will fetch up to if kicked out. Most likely, he will opt to return to where he came from—the Bharatiya Janata Party. There are conspiracy theorists who say Sidhu is a poisonous BJP plant in the Congress party’s Mughal Garden!

That cannot be the truth. Navjot Singh Sidhu isn't poison ivy. He’s just another bloke who wants to be Chief Minister and there are plenty from various parties who want to be CM. Akhilesh Yadav for one. Bhagwant Singh Mann for another. There is Rawat in Uttarakhand and there must be CM faces in Goa and Manipur, too.

It is only in Punjab where it’s more or less sure that the Congress with the right CM face will retain the state—in fact, the only state in these ‘mini-general elections’ where there is a Congress government. Channi is from the Malwa region of Punjab and they say whichever party wins Malwa wins the state.

Now, ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi got stalled on the Ferozepur flyover, Channi’s stock in the Congress has only risen. The subsequent debriefing regarding Modi’s flyover stopover to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra added to the growing Channi lore, driving laughter champion Sidhu deeper into the corner.

Navjot Singh Sidhu made a mistake. He thought Rahul Gandhi will forget that Sidhu hugged Pak Army chief Qamar Bajwa and called Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan a “brother.” Sidhu did himself a disfavour when he chose Pakistan over Punjab. It is not a forgiving matter.

Sidhu is a joke wrapped in a tragedy. A couple of days ago, he chose to say that the people of Punjab are bigger than the Congress high command! And this after he let it out that Rahul Gandhi was in some “secret meeting” on foreign shores. With whom, he didn’t say and that told the lie.

But the Bharatiya Janata party lapped it up like a cat does with somebody's milk! In fact, such ‘blurts’ lend credence to talk that Sidhu is a ‘BJP plant’. The difference between Navjot Singh Sidhu and Charanjit Singh Channi cannot be more glaring than when looked at through the prism of the BJP.

Not that the BJP is displaying strong love for Sidhu. The BJP has chosen Capt. Amarinder Singh as its knight in Punjab armour, the extra-large Patiala peg which holds the politically bankrupt Punjab unit of the BJP upright. Amarinder hopes to remain relevant riding on Modi’s coattails, but Modi is in shock after the teleprompter struck work.

Even otherwise, Modi is not the one for any peg or Patiala on the rocks. Channi needn’t worry though one of Modi’s favourite central Alsatian is snapping at the heels of one of Channi’s “nephews”, citing the IPC and illegal sand-mining. It’s the smell of the UP-style raids all over again.

That said, Channi faces no challenge from Capt. Amarinder Singh and his BJP backrest. But there is the challenge posed by the Aam Aadmi Party and AAP Member of Parliament Bhagwant Singh Mann. Reports doing the rounds that Bhagwant Singh Mann will be named AAP’s chief ministerial candidate has come true and he’s no easy walkover.

Mann, like Channi, is a Malwa man—popular, too. His turban may be yellow, but there is no yellow in him. Channi will find Mann a tough cookie. The Punjab electorate will be hard put to choose between the two. Channi versus Bhagwant Mann is like Rahul Gandhi up against Arvind Kejriwal. And neither of them will be seen dead with the teleprompter! (IPA Service)