Charanjit Singh Channi: Third-time MLA to play the Dalit card in Punjab

Over the next six months, Channi has to prove not just that he has the support of Punjab's scheduled castes but also of the state's caste aristocracy

Charanjit Singh Channi, minister for technical education in the Amarinder Singh government, will now have the task of challenging the combined might of the Jat Sikhs, backing not just the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) but also the Congress. Over the next six months, he has to prove not just that he has the support of Punjab’s scheduled castes but also of the state’s caste aristocracy. He has to establish that he is more than just a figurehead Dalit leader in a region that bears allegiance to Kanshi Ram’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). The going will not be easy.
 

Punjab’s caste