Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi will contest the upcoming assembly elections in the state from the Chamkaur Sahib constituency, the Congress confirmed on Saturday as it released its first list of 86 candidates. 

Punjab Congress Committee chief Navjot Singh Sidhu will contest the election from the Amritsar East constituency. Deputy Chief Ministers Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Om Prakash Soni have been fielded from Dera Baba Nanak and Amritsar Central respectively. 

Channi, his two deputies as well as Sidhu have been fielded from the same seats they won in 2017. 

Meanwhile, Punjabi singer Sidhu Mussewala, who joined the Congress sometime ago will contest from Mansa and actor Sonu Sood’s sister Malvika Sood from Moga.

Party’s Rajya Sabha MP Pratap Singh Bajwa will contest from Qadian assembly seat in Gurdaspur.

Former PCC president and campaign committee chief Sunil Jakhar will not contest the assembly polls and his nephew Sandeep Jakhar will contest the Abohar assembly seat instead.

Punjab Minister Brahm Mohindra will also not contest the elections, with his son Mohit having been fielded from the Patiala rural assembly seat instead. 

Among other sitting Punjab ministers, Manpreet Singh Badal will contest from Bathinda Urban, Vijay Inder Singla from Sangrur, Razia Sultana from Malerkotla, Gurkirat Singh Kotli from Khanna, Rana Gurjit Singh from Kapurthala, Tript Rajinder Bajwa from Fatehgarh Churian, Randeep Singh Nabha from Amloh, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring from Gidderbaha, Pargat Singh from Jalandhar Cantt.

The list was released after the party’s central election committee chaired by party chief Sonia Gandhi cleared the names in its meeting held on Thursday. 

Punjab will vote to elect its next government in a single phase on February 14. The votes will be counted on March 10.