Aam Aadmi Party has won the Punjab Elections by a major landslide. AAP’s Bhagwant Singh Mann is chosen to be the next Chief Ministerial face for Punjab.
In Punjab elections, Aam Aadmi Party has won by a massive strength on 92 seats. While INC won on merely 18 seats, Akali Dal on 3, and BJP on just 2 seats. Major powerful leaders of Punjab like Charanjit Singh Channi, Navjot Singh Siddhu, and Captain Amrinder Singh have lost from their strong held constituencies.
All the ministers accepted their defeat and congratulated Mann. Congratulating his successor, Channi tweeted, “I humbly accept the verdict of the people of Punjab and congratulate AAP and their elected CM Bhagwant Singh Mann Ji for their victory. I hope they will deliver on the expectations of the people.”
Navjot Singh Siddhu and Captain Amarinder Singh also congratulated the new CM elect of Punjab on Twitter.
Bhagwant Singh Mann: The new Chief Minister-elect of Punjab
Bhagwant Singh Mann was chosen as the Chief Minister face of AAP on January 19. This was decided hardly a month before the advent of elections on a phone-in poll. Bhagwant Mann received over 93% votes out of 2.15 million responses.
Mann is a Member of Parliament since 2014 from Sangrur, Punjab. Born in a Sikh family in the village of Satoj, Sangrur. He graduated from Shaheed Udham Singh Government College, Sunam.
Bhagwant Singh Mann began his career as a comedian and a satirist. His comedy routines involved typical Indian issues such as politics, business and sports.
He debuted in a comedy album with Jagtar Jaggi, and then they were a part of a TV program called ‘Jugnu Kehnda Hai’. However, 10 years later they both parted ways and in 2006 they reunited for a tour to Canada and England. But Mann’s popularity was somewhat restricted till Punjab.
In 2008, Mann competed in the Great Indian Laughter Challenge on Star Plus and gained popularity all over India. The show was judged by none other than Navjot Singh Sidhu.
Further, Mann has contributed to several Punjabi Films. His Movie, ‘Mai Maa Punjab Dee’ won a National Award too. Other than this he has also acted in a Bollywood movie Apne.
Political Career
Mann started his political career in 2011. He joined the People’s Party of Punjab but lost the assembly elections from Lehra constituency. Further, in 2014 he joined the Aam Aadmi Party and fought his first Lok Sabha elections from Sangrur.
He won the Lok Sabha seat in May 2014 elections and then in 2019 he was re-elected from the seat. Moreover, Mann is the only candidate from Aam Aadmi Party in Lok Sabha.
In 2017, he fought the Punjab assembly elections against the then Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal from Akali Dal. But, he was defeated. Following, on 19 January 2022, Aam Aadmi Party chose Mann as their Chief Ministerial face for the coming assembly elections.
Controversies
Mann’s career has been full of ups and downs. He once said, “When I started off as a comedian, people would look at me, hear me and laugh — but now when they look at me, they start crying, begging me to help them to help Punjab”.
Due to his popularity as a comedian, he is a crowd puller. His rallies and public gatherings witness a huge crowd. However, his habits create controversies and give ways to his counterparts to target them.
His opponents accuse him of consuming a huge amount of alcohol. Further, they also spread videos of Bhagwant Singh Mann under the influence of alcohol. During the 2019 general elections, Arvind Kejriwal announced that Mann has sworn to give up alcohol.
Sukhbir Singh Badal, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Amarinder Singh reaction on Bhagwant Singh Mann’s victory
All the oppositions of Bhagwant Mann are accepting the people’s judgement in Punjab. Shiromani Akali Dal leader, Sukhbir Singh Badal tweeted, “As president of Akali Dal, I congratulate AAP and their leader Bhagwant Singh Mann on their victory in Punjab. I offer them my sincere good wishes for success and I am sure they will live up to people’s expectations”.
Whereas, Navjot Singh Sidhu tweeted, “The voice of the people is the voice of God. Humbly accept the mandate of the people of Punjab. Congratulations to AAP!!!”
Also, Amarinder Singh tweeted the same by accepting the people’s verdict in Punjab and congratulated the Aam Aadmi Party along with Bhagwant Singh Mann.
Published By : Revathy G Sanal
Edited By : Subbuthai Padma
