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'Don't let UP, Bihar ke bhaiya enter Punjab,' said Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi just days before the polls. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi was alongside him, smiling and cheering as he made the remark.

The BJP has retaliated, claiming that the chief minister insulted people in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Priyanka Gandhi, according to the BJP, has insulted the people of Uttar Pradesh, where the Congress is campaigning. 

Arvind Kejriwal, the leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), also slammed Channi's alleged remark. He stated, "It's a disgrace. We vehemently oppose comments directed at any individual or group. Priyanka Gandhi is also a bhaiya, as she comes from Uttar Pradesh."

The Congress' official chief ministerial candidate in the Punjab election is Charanjit Singh Channi. His CM candidacy was revealed earlier this month by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi following a tele-voting held by the party. He received more votes than Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu, who had been campaigning for months as the CM candidate. 

The Congress aims to win over Punjab's Dalit voters with Channi's nomination as chief ministerial candidate. Dalits account for more than 32% of Punjab's population. In Punjab, where Jat Sikhs dominated politics, Channi became the first chief minister from the Dalit community.

The Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), and a new alliance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh's new group Punjab Lok Congress will contest all 117 seats in Punjab on February 20. (PLC).