By Asia Samachar | Panjab |
Bhagwant Singh Mann, the became the face of a new force to break the duopoly of the Akali and Congress in Punjab, assumed office as the 18th chief minister of Punjab.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader held the swearing-in ceremony at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh today (16 March 2022).
Bhagwant promised to turnaround the state like Delhi which is administered by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, the AAP founder who was also present at the event.
“We will start slowly. I appeal to all of you to not start a fight on on social media – or use bad words. People should feel that a mature government is in power,” Bhagwant said in his speech.
AAP romped home in a history victory when it won 92 of the 117 seats in the state assembly of the northern Indian state, announced on 10 March. The Congress mustered only 18 seats while Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) three, BJP two and BSP one.
Bigwigs fell aside like twigs this time around. Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi from the Congress lost in both seats contested. He lost the Bhadaur seat to Labh Singh Ugoke, 35, who runs a mobile shop repair shop. Ugoke’s father is a driver and his mother works as a sweeper.
Punjab’s almost permanent political fixture and former CM Parkash Singh Badal from SAD lost his Lambi seat to AAP candidate Gurmeet Singh Khudian. His son Sukhbir Singh Badal, the CM-candidate for SAD, also lost. And so did former CM Capt Amarinder Singh who left Congress to set-up a rival party.
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This is a defeat for the Badal family (Asia Samachar, 16 March 2022)
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