Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab chief minister candidate Bhagwant Mann is fighting to save Punjab, the farmers, the agriculture, the industry and the youth.
The comedian-turned-politician thinks that power in Punjab is limited to a few political families and wants the AAP government to take out the power from those families and take it to the common man.
The government of the Aam Aadmi Party will be the government of all sections of Punjab, he once said.
Only AAP leader who got elected to the Lok Sabha twice
Mann joined the AAP in 2014 and won the Sangrur parliamentary seat by 211,721 votes. He took over the reins of the party unit in 2019 and is the only party leader who got elected to the Lok Sabha twice after winning polls.
A popular comedian-actor, he is known for his trademark ‘basanti’ turban – a colour associated with Shaheed Bhagat Singh – and has been linked to a string of controversies in recent years, especially his drinking habit.
Mann, 48, has been pitted against Congress candidate and sitting legislator Dalvir Singh Goldy.
To counter his opponent’s popularity, Goldy has been trying to build a narrative of a battle between an ‘outsider’ versus ‘Dhuri da putt’ as he’s a resident of the constituency.
Bhagwant Mann has a strong fan base and is a crowd puller
The AAP in Punjab faced several difficulties including defections over the last five years but Mann is the only leader in the state’s party unit who has a strong fan base and is a crowd puller.
The party saw the exit of leaders like H.S. Phoolka, Sucha Singh Chhotepur and Sukhpal Singh Khaira, but Mann remained loyal to Arvind Kejriwal.
Calling himself “loyal soldier of AAP”, he once said that he will do whatever duty is assigned to him including pasting posters on walls or waving ‘Jhadu’.
“I will gladly do that. Punjab is very important to me. Kejriwal has placed a lot of faith in me,” he had said.
After AAP lost the polls in 2017, experts opined that AAP in Punjab has an image of a party of Delhi and non-Punjabis calling it a major factor for AAP’s debacle in the polls.
This time the AAP wants to set things right by selecting a ‘Sardar’ for the Chief Minister’s post.
Wants to wipe out the drug syndicate from Punjab
Mann wants to wipe out the drug syndicate from Punjab if AAP is voted to power and lack of employment, education and health are other key issues for the AAP.
The AAP chief ministerial candidate has also said that youths of Punjab are moving abroad to find better opportunities and he wants to address this problem.
We will stop our talent from migrating by providing them adequate employment opportunities, the second-time Lok Sabha member from Sangrur said.
Arvind Kejriwal remains a popular face in Punjab politics and his poll promises forced other parties, including the ruling Congress, to announce similar sops like free power, water, and financial assistance to women but with farmers floating their own parties — the Samyukt Samaj Morcha (SSM) of Balbir Singh Rajewal and Gurnam Singh Chaduni’s Samyukt Sangharsh Party (SSP) – things will not be smooth for AAP.
However, given the anti-incumbency factor, it will be interesting to see if Bhagwant Mann propels his party to victory in the upcoming polls.
