Amid Punjab Tussle, Congress Video Stars Chief Minister Channi

Actor Sonu Sood, appearing in a short video clip shared by the Congress on Twitter, said that the "real chief minister" would be someone who deserves to be at the post and not someone who declares themselves to be the chief ministerial candidate.

The video comes after the actor's sister Malvika Sood announced she will contest the Punjab polls, scheduled for February 20, representing the Congress party.

In the 36-second clip, retweeted by the Punjab Congress, Mr Sood says, "The real chief minister or king is someone who is forcibly brought to the chair. They do not need to struggle and do not need tell that I was the chief ministerial candidate and I deserve this."

बोल रहा पंजाब, अब पंजे के साथ- मजबूत करेंगे हर हाथ। pic.twitter.com/qQOZpnKItd

— Congress (@INCIndia) January 17, 2022

"They should be someone who is a back-bencher and is brought from the front," the actor added. "They should be told that you deserve this and you become the chief minister and that person can change the country".

The 36-second video on Twitter, which was retweeted by the Punjab Congress, ends with visuals of Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi at different programmes and events.

Mr Channi, who is the first Dalit chief minister in the state, had a few days ago said that the Congress should declare its chief ministerial candidate. He said that it has been seen in the past that doing so has favoured the party reap electoral gains.

However, the Congress has not named a chief ministerial candidate. The party will go to the elections under "collective leadership", it said.

Punjab will vote in a single phase on February 14. The votes will be counted on March 10.