As Aam Aadmi Party poises for a historic verdict in the state, Bhagwant Mann, MP from Sangrur and party’s CM face, said on Thursday that he will take the oath as Punjab’s Chief Minister in Bhagat Singh’s village Khatkarkalan, and not at the Raj Bhawan in Chandigarh.
“I will take oath as the CM in Bhagat Singh’s village Khatkarkalan, not at the Raj Bhawan,” Mann, said in Sangrur. Mann also said that in his term, no government offices will have Chief Minister’s photos. “There will be pictures of Shaheed Bhagat Singh and Babasaheb Ambedkar,” he said.
Mann has won from Sangrur district’s Dhuri assembly constituency by a margin of 58,206 votes over Congress’ Dalvir Singh Goldy.
Mann was announced as AAP’s chief ministerial candidate on January 18. The party claimed the decision was taken after it conducted telephonic polls to decide the chief ministerial candidate.
Born in Satoj village of Sangrur in 1973, Mann started his career as a comedian. He began his political career in 2011 with the Punjab Peoples Party, which is led by Manpreet Singh Badal. In 2012, he fought the elections from the Lehragaga constituency but lost.
Later, he joined the Aam Aadmi Party in 2014 and contested the election from the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat. His importance in Punjab politics increased when he defeated the veteran leader of Punjab Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, who was then with Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).
Mann has been elected to the Punjab Lok Sabha seat of Sangrur for two terms in a row since 2014.
He gained popularity from his satires in the TV show ‘Jugnu Mast Mast’. He also featured in several other comedy shows.
According to the Election Commission of India, AAP has won 65 seats and is leading on 27 others at 4:40 PM in the 117 seat Punjab assembly.
As AAP wins Punjab, it will be the party’s maiden victory in the state and a vast improvement from its performance in the 2017 elections when it had finished second behind Congress.
Punjab Chief Minister and Congress leader Charanjit Singh Channi has lost from both the seats that he contested – Chamkaur Sahib and Bhadaur in the state assembly elections.
“I humbly accept the verdict of the people of Punjab and Congratulate @AamAadmiParty and their elected CM @BhagwantMann Ji for the victory. I hope they will deliver on the expections of people,” Channi said in a tweet.
Channi got over 23,000 votes in the Bhadaur constituency. He lost against Aam Aadmi Party’s Labh Singh Ugoke who got over 57,000 votes. While in Chamkaur Sahib, Channi got 50,000 votes, while Aam Aadmi Party’s candidate who has a similar name – Charanjit Singh – got over 54,000 votes.
Channi replaced Captain Amarinder Singh on September 19, 2021, and became the first Dalit Chief Minister of Punjab. He was the 16th Chief Minister of the state.
SIDHU, MAJITHIA AND AMARINDER SUFFER LOSSES
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Jeevan Jyot Kaur defeated Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu and senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia on the Amritsar East Assembly seat in Punjab.
Amritsar (East) was witnessing a key battle where Sidhu, who was the sitting MLA from the seat, took on former state minister Majithia, who is the brother-in-law of SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on the other hand fielded a female candidate Jeevan Jyot Kaur from the seat. Kaur won the Assembly constituency Amritsar East constituency by bagging total votes of 39,679. Trailing second behind the AAP candidate was Congress’ Sidhu with 32,929 votes. Majithia finished at the third spot with 25,188 votes.
Meanehile, Punjab Lok Congress Party chief and two-time chief minister Amarinder Singh lost from Patiala Urban by a margin of 19,873 votes to Aam Aadmi Party’s Ajit Pal Singh Kohli according to Assembly poll results declared by the Election Commission on Thursday.
Punjab witnessed a multi-cornered contest this time with Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Shiromani Akali Dal-Bahujan Samaj Party alliance, and the coalition of Bharatiya Janata Party-former chief minister Amarinder Singh’s Punjab Lok Congress party as key players.
According to the Election Commission of India, AAP has won 92 seats in the 117 seat Punjab assembly. Congress and the BJP won 18 and 2 seats respectively.