Friday, March 29, 2024

AAP’s sole elected MP, comedian-turned-politician: Bhagwant Mann is AAP’s CM face in Punjab

Bhagwant Mann is AAP’s CM face in Punjab
The Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday announced Bhagwant Mann as the party’s chief ministerial candidate for the Punjab Assembly polls.

The Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday announced Bhagwant Mann as the party’s chief ministerial candidate for the Punjab Assembly polls.

MP from Sangrur and the chief of Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Punjab unit, Mann is also a well-known film and TV personality in Punjab.

The announcement comes in the wake of a phone-in poll conducted by the AAP in which most people chose Bhagwant Mann as the chief ministerial candidate. On 13 January, the party chief Arvind Kejriwal urged the voters of Punjab to recommend the chief ministerial candidates for polls. AAP leaders had said that the party wanted Mann to be the CM face but they had suggested the idea of asking for people’s choice.

Mann received more than 93 percent of the votes received through phone and WhatsApp, Kejriwal told reporters. More than 21 lakh people participated in the vote, AAP said.

“It is clear that AAP will win the Punjab election. In a way, the person chosen as the Chief Ministerial candidate will be the next Chief Minister of Punjab,” Kejriwal said.

Bhagwant Mann

The 49-year old Jatt Sikh politician began his political journey by joining the People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) in 2011, which had been formed by Manpreet Badal. In 2012, he unsuccessfully contested elections in the Lehra constituency.

Mann broke off from his long and very successful career as a popular comedian in multiple formats to join politics. Bhagwant Mann also acted in the National Award-winning Film ” Main Maa Punjab Dee” Directed by Balwant Dulla.

Mann joined AAP soon after and fought the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Sangrur where he won by 211,721 votes. In 2019, he won again the Lok Sabha seat from Sangrur by 111,111 votes. He is the only member of parliament from Aam Aadmi Party in the lower house (Lok Sabha) of the parliament.

Mann had resigned in protest as AAP’s president of Punjab unit in March 2018 following Kejriwal’s apology to Bikram Singh Majithia, only to be re-appointed.

Mann also has his own charitable foundation, the Lok Lehar Foundation, with focus on children with special needs. 

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