The Punjab Cabinet is likely to take oath on Sunday with at least seven new entrants amid chances of some loyalists of Captain Amarinder Singh facing the axe, according to a media report. Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi met Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Saturday afternoon after reportedly finalising the names following a discussion with senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Five ministers from the cabinet led by Channi’s predecessor Captain Amarinder Singh are likely to be dropped, NDTV quoted sources as saying.

Channi took oath as Punjab Chief Minister on September 20, two days after Captain Amarinder resigned from the post following a long-drawn power struggle with Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu. After submitting his resignation, Amarinder said he had been humiliated three times by the Congress leadership in the past two months. “They called the MLAs to Delhi twice and now convened CLP (Congress Legislature Party) here in Chandigarh,” Amarinder said at a press conference.

Channi, who was chosen by the Congress high command over frontrunners such as Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, has visited Delhi thrice since assuming office. The seven new entrants include Raj Kumar Verka, Kuljit Nagra, Gurkirat Singh Kotli, Pargat Singh, Raja Warring, Rana Gurjeet, and Surjit Singh Dhiman.

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Captain Amarinder loyalists – Brahm Mohindra, Vijendra Singla and Bharat Bhushan Ashu – have been retained while Balbir Sidhu, Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, Gurmeet Sodhi, SS Arora, and Gurpreet Kangar are likely to lose their ministerial berths.

Earlier this week, Channi and Sidhu landed in a controversy over flying to Delhi in a private jet for a meeting with senior Congress leaders. The ruling party said the aircraft had been hired due to an “urgency.” Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and one of Sidhu’s relatives were also aboard the 16-seater aircraft.