Union Home Minister Amit Shah interacts with a resident during his door-to-door campaign ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, in Kairana. (PTI photo)
On the face of it, Bhagwant Singh Mann is the face of the newly appointed Chief Minister. Aam Aadmi Party In Punjab, your quintessential common man, with a slightly slanted turban on his head, razor-sharp intellect always directed at the ruling government, and giggles. Be it in the village, in a dhaba or on a Punjab Roadways bus, you will surely meet someone like him.
But Mann is not a common man. From a well-known comedian to an MP and now one of the contenders to win Punjab the CM face of the party, the 48-year-old has seen one success after another. Mann was 38 when he joined the People’s Party of Punjab (PPP), an experiment to “purify politics” by Manpreet Badal, a cousin of the current Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal; and 41 when he won his first Lok Sabha election in 2014 from Sangrur by a record margin against Akali leader SS Dhindsa, a seat he regained in 2019.
Open war in Kapurthala, minister supported son regarding Congress candidate, party silent
Even on the evening of 20 January, a TV channel’s debate on the parameters of the colorful politics of Punjab left many red faces. Filled with abuses and baseless allegations, it did not involve two rival parties but Congress leaders from both sides, slipping it on a single ticket.
The Congress, stricken and hurt by a long-standing battle, has decided not to respond to this particular episode. However, the wound is likely to bleed, as its leader who has turned rogue is cabinet minister Rana Gurjit Singh, who is also known to be one of Punjab’s richest MLAs and close to the rebel Amarinder Singh.
Not caring much for specifics, Rana Gurjit is campaigning for his son Rana Inder Pratap Singh, who is contesting as an independent from Sultanpur Lodhi in Kapurthala after the Congress refused him a ticket instead of a two-time MLA. are. Rana Gurjit himself is a Congress candidate from Kapurthala (a seat he won thrice), and it was part of the party’s policy to forbid his son to have more than one member of a family (even as chief minister). also) did not put it in the field. Charanjit Singh ChanniK’s brother was refused, the Congress leader explains).
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