DW BUREAU / Chandigarh Hours before the oath-taking ceremony of Charanjit Singh Channi as Punjab chief minister, Congress leader Sunil Jakhar on Monday questioned AICC general secretary Harish Rawat's reported statement that the upcoming state elections would be fought under the leadership of Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu. Jakhar, who is also the former Punjab Congress chief, dubbed Rawat's statement as "baffling", saying it is likely to "undermine" the authority of the chief minister. "On the swearing-in day of Sh @Charnjit channi as chief minister, Mr Rawat's statement that 'elections will be fought under Sidhu', is baffling. It's likely to undermine CM's authority but also negate the very 'raison d'être' of his selection for this position," he said in a tweet. Channi was on Monday sworn in as chief minister of Punjab, making him the first Dalit to hold the top post in the state. Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and O P Soni, both outgoing ministers in the previous Amarinder Singh cabinet, were also administered oath of office and secrecy by the Punjab governor. They will be designated as deputy chief ministers. Rawat had reportedly said that the Punjab Assembly polls next year will be fought under Sidhu. Jakhar was one of the frontrunners for the post of Congress Legislative Party leader after Amarinder Singh was nudged into quitting ostensibly over his "failure" to fulfil the promises made by the party in the 2017 assembly polls. However, the Congress finally picked Channi for the post and it was learnt that Sidhu backed it. Speaking to reporters, Jakhar said Rawat, who is a senior leader and has a lot of political experience, could have avoided giving such a statement. "He (Rawat) had earlier made a statement that the 2022 elections will be fought under the leadership of Sonia ji and Rahul ji. Later, another statement was given by him that polls will be fought under Capt Sahab's (Amarinder Singh) leadership. "When Channi had not even taken oath, such a statement should have been avoided," Jakhar said, adding such statements create doubt and show weakness, said Jakhar. He said senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala had on Monday stated that the party's face for the 2022 polls will be both Channi and Sidhu. Jakhar, however, said he was happy that the party high command had handled the situation. Replying to a question, the Congress leader said he was surprised when he heard from the media that his name was also in contention for the post of CLP leader when he was not even a member of the Punjab Assembly. (editor@dailyworld.in)