With Channi's appointment as the CM, the Cong has followed the BJP's image-correction exercise

Nightwatchman’ is an age-old concept in Test cricket where a batsman of lower ability is sent out to bat ahead of the top order batsmen to stick around in difficult batting conditions and leave when the conditions are favourable for them. The same seems to be the case with the newly appointed Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi as he replaced Captain Amarinder Singh in an all-out shocker. Punjab has the largest Dalit population among all States, which the Congress seeks to stimulate but the ‘gamble’ to appoint Channi could go either way. The overwhelmed Channi called Rahul Gandhi “a revolutionary leader” to thank him for this move; however, Channi’s remark would prove true only if the Congress fights the 2022 Assembly elections under him after Harish Rawat took no time to indicate that Navjot Sidhu would be the face of the Congress in the polls. The infighting after the Captain’s dismissal may not necessarily abate as many anticipate. The power-hungry PCC chief is likely to put the screws on the new Chief Minister to remind him “who’s the boss”.

The multiple attempts at image enhancement by changing State and Union Cabinet Ministers by the BJP and now by the Congress only solidify the high command order followed by parties. With the latest dismissal, five Chief Ministers from four States — Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Gujarat and now Punjab — have been abruptly replaced since March before completing their term. This image-building cum image-correcting manoeuvre is a recent phenomenon and justifies how modern problems require modern solutions. Chief Ministers have been known to serve complete and oftentimes multiple terms. Prime Minister Modi himself served as the Gujarat Chief Minister for over 13 years; however, the gamble of dismissing a Chief Minister for failed governance rather than addressing the failure has emerged convenient and politically rewarding. After the Punjab fiasco, all eyes are on the Congress-ruled Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh where Ministers have been defying the Congress leadership. Congress leader Sachin Pilot wants his position to be restored and given the top post in Rajasthan while TS Singhdeo wants the concept of rotational Chief Minister to be honoured in Chhattisgarh. Frequent changes in State leaderships would yield nothing but social and political catastrophes and hence the question remains if the new phenomenon would become the new normal?