The 48-year-old comedian-turned-politician Bhagwant Mann, announced as the Aam Aadmi Party’s chief ministerial candidate on Tuesday for the February 20 elections, has been the party’s face in Punjab ever since it first stunned the state’s traditional political parties by bagging four seats in 2014 parliamentary polls.
Coming a long way since then, Mann has remained a proven crowd-puller, having a mass appeal amidst all categories of people. And all through this time, he nurtured the nascent party which witnessed many ups and down in the past eight years as the state unit president.
Even though AAP’s popularity witnessed a dip over these years, Mann’s charisma remained the same...in fact, it grew. Over the period, he succeeded in shedding the humorist image, while emerging as a dedicated leader of the masses. In fact, his several trysts with controversies, especially his alleged drinking problem, did not dampen the high spirits of his supporters and followers — virtually forcing AAP to lay its bet on Mann.
On becoming the man of the moment, Mann said that he “will not celebrate today”, but “once we succeeded in our aim to make Punjab happy and prosperous again”.
Reiterating AAP’s agenda to eradicate drugs from Punjab and to provide employment and quality education to the state’s youth, Mann said: “I will celebrate only after achieving all these goals.”
Visibly emotional, Mann said that there was a lot of hard work to be done to form the party’s government in the state. He urged the party cadre and also the people to work hard towards a “better Punjab”.
“Even after forming the government, everyone should work towards making Punjab a better place...where no chamchas will rule but the people would call the shots,” he declared.
At the same time, Mann assured that on becoming the Chief Minister, he will use this power invested in him by the people to work for the people. “After forming the government every decision of the party will be pro-people and he will work for the poor, downtrodden and common people,” he said.
Mann, thanking everyone for supporting and voting for him, said: “A dual responsibility has been put on my shoulders as I have been named as CM candidate not only by the party but also by the people of the state.”
“Earlier when I used to meet people across Punjab, they used to laugh after seeing me. But now, they weep and beg that Punjab be brought back to its pristine state of yore,” said Mann, who is also AAP’s Punjab unit president.
Pointing that many sections of the society are sitting on protests atop mobile towers and water tanks in the state, Mann said that their demands have to be addressed. “Those in authority should work for the welfare of the people of the state. We have been made to see enough dreams about making Punjab into Paris...but all we want is to make Punjab what it was,” he said.
Responding to his rivals and their jibes at his “past” drinking problems, Mann said: “This has been going on since long. But now, Punjabis have given me their stamp of approval. They selected me as their CM candidate. Now opposition parties have nothing else to say...I have a clean image....there are now corruption charges, no Enforcement Directorate raids, no Income Tax raids.”
Mann, addressing the media after the declaration of his name, said that he was a dedicated soldier of the party and he’d fulfil every responsibility that’s bestowed upon him by the party as well as the people of Punjab. “It is an important day for me and the party and now my responsibility has doubled,” he said.
“My dream is to make Punjab drug free, to provide sufficient employment, best and free education and I want to make Punjab’s agriculture and farmers prosperous, and I will not rest until all these dreams come true. AAP will bring Punjab on the top again and it’ll again be our country’s jewel like it used to be,” he said.
EMERGED AS AAP’s MATCHLESS FACE
Rustic style coupled with witty and satirical speeches, Mann has emerged as the party’s most popular leader ever since he joined AAP in 2014. Over the period of time, his support and followers within the party amplified, who then started pressing upon the high command to project Mann as the CM face for Punjab polls. In fact, Mann too adopted pressure tactics to press upon AAP leadership. Upset over the party's apathy, he chose to stay away from the political field, maintaining distance with the party activities. Several party workers and volunteers too expressed their displeasure, with the party's MLA from Bathinda Rural Rupinder Kaur Ruby parting ways over the same issue. That was not all! During Kejriwal’s Punjab visits ahead of elections, slogans supporting Mann, instead of Kejriwal, were heard loud and clear.
MANN’s POLITICAL CAREER
Mann joined politics in 2011 with Manpreet Singh Badal-led People’s Party of Punjab (PPP), and unsuccessfully contested elections against the former Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal from Lehra gaga assembly constituency in 2012. He finished third. Later, Manpreet merged his PPP with the Congress in 2014, but Mann refused to follow him. Instead, he chose the nascent AAP.
In 2014, Mann won Lok Sabha elections from Sangrur by more than 2.11 lakh votes — which was the highest winning margin in the State — defeating the likes of Akali stalwart Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and Congress’ Vijay Inder Singla. In AAP’s first state assembly polls in 2017, contested against SAD president and the then Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal in his bastion Jalalabad. Though he lost, AAP become principal opposition party winning 20 seats.
MANN TIDE THROUGH MODI WAVE IN 2019
In 2019, when all other party candidates in the State forfeited their security deposits, Mann again scored a spectacular win from Sangrur parliamentary constituency by over one lakh votes tiding through the colossal Modi wave. Currently, he is the only AAP MP in the Lok Sabha. Following this, Mann's influence within the party kept increasing. Mann’s loud voice resonated in the Parliament on the issues related to Punjab.
WHEN HE SWORE HIS MOTHER'S OATH ON STAGE
In 2019, when his rivals were taking dig at him for his drinking habits, Mann came on stage with his mother during a rally at Barnala. “I used to drink alcohol at times earlier, but I am being maligned as an alcoholic,” Mann had then said while swearing on his mother that he had given up alcohol completely from January 1, and now he would never touch it.