Bhagwant Mann, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader, took oath as Punjab Chief Minister on Wednesday at Khatkar Kalan, Nageshwar district, the ancestral village of legendary freedom fighter, Bhagat Singh. Through televoting of people’s opinion, Mann was chosen as AAP’s chief minister candidate.
From the results of the recently concluded Punjab assembly elections, it could be concluded that the people of Punjab voted for change. AAP won 92 of 117 seats diminishing all the heavyweights and influential political families. Bhagwant Mann in the elections attracted the people through his public speaking skills gained from being a former standup comedian. He smashed his Congress counterpart, Dalvir Singh Goldy by winning the pivotal Dhuri assembly seat with a margin of 58,206 votes. The parties like the Shiromani Akali Dal, the Congress, the BSP and the BJP were zoned out since it gave seats to friends and family.
Delhi CM, Aravind Kejriwal tweeted that today, the entire Punjab will come together and take a pledge to make Punjab a happy state, ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of Mann.
Manish Tewari, Congress MP, tweeted “I congratulate @BhagwantMann on being sworn in as Chief Minister. I thank him for inviting me to his swearing-in… it is ironic, I was not invited to @charanjitchanni’s swearing-in though he was one of my MLA’s.”
Key Highlights from the Ceremony
Mann took oath as the 17th Chief Minister of Punjab in the presence of the AAP convenor, Delhi Chief Minister, Aravind Kejriwal. Becoming the first non-Congress and non- Akhali CM, Mann in the ceremony thanked each and everyone gathered for the ceremony and said that he is the CM even for those who have not voted for him.
Around 3 lakh people across the state attended the exalted swearing-in ceremony. According to India Today, Mann said that this is a democracy and everyone has the right to choose a political ideology he also added that he doesn’t want people to think he is arrogant.
Bhagwant Mann uttered that he would not indulge in petty politics. The comedian-turned politician also said that Bhagat Singh was worried about India after independence and they would fix everything up, from unemployment to farming, and find solutions to even the smallest of problems in the state. He also added that they (AAP in Punjab) would build schools and hospitals in the state.
The Punjab CM ended the oath with the phrase ‘Inquilab Zindabad’, which means ‘Long live the revolution, which was popularised and associated with the iconic freedom fighter Bhagat Singh. Mann appealed to the newly-elected MLAs of the state to not get arrogant and respect even those who did not vote for AAP. At last, after taking the oath, he thanked everyone and the AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal.
Who is Mann?
From beginning his career as a comedian to becoming Punjab’s CM in just 8 years span, Bhagwant Mann has seen a fleeting rise in his career. Born in1973 in Satoj village of Sangrur, Mann was widely noticed as a stand-up comedian in the show ‘The Great India Laughter Challenge’ in 2006. Ironically, his political rival Navjot Singh Sidhu garnered him popularity while being the judge of the show.
Beginning his political career in 2011, by joining the Manpreet Singh Badal led Punjab People’s Party, he was unfortunately unsuccessful with the party. Later he left the party and joined the AAP in 2014. He then successfully contested the elections from Sangrur and won the Lok Sabha seat. After which he was made as a party’s state unit chief. He, in 2019, again won the Sangrur constituency in the Lok Sabha elections.
At present, Mann’s victory is hailed and cherished by the people of Punjab. A college dropout becoming the CM of Punjab, is in itself a story to be lauded. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Tamil Nadu CM, MK Stalin, Samajwadi Party Chief, Akhilesh Yadav and Delhi CM, Arvind Kejriwal congratulated Bhagwant Mann on his oath-taking ceremony.
On Wednesday, the same day Mann took oath as CM of Punjab, Navjot Singh Sidhu resigned from the post of Punjab Congress President soon after Congress President Sonia Gandhi asked the five states (Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Manipur) unit chiefs to resign.
Published By: JAINAM SHETH
Edited By : KRITIKA KASHYAP
