Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Chief Ministerial candidate Bhagwant Mann, a millionaire, on Saturday filed his nomination papers from Dhuri Assembly segment.
Though Mann lives in a rented house, he is the owner of a Chevrolet cruise and two Fortuner cars. That’s not all! He also owns 16.50 marla agricultural land in Sunam and village Satuj, besides a shop-cum-office (SCO) in Urban Estate Phase I, Omaxe Mall, in Patiala and shops in Karheri village.
Mann declared his assets as a part of his nomination papers, a day after AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal was asking people to choose a honest Chief Minister, while citing Mann’s record and pointing out that despite being two-time MP, Mann still lives in a rented house in Sangrur.
As per his papers, Mann owns movable and immovable property worth Rs two crore — movable property worth Rs 48.10 lakh including Rs 1.10 lakh cash, more than Rs six lakh deposited in the bank, two Fortuners and a Chevrolet cruise car, and 95 grams gold worth Rs five lakhs; and immovable property worth Rs 1.49 crore including agricultural land, SCO, and
shops.
Interestingly, there was not much change or increase in Mann’s assets even after being MP for almost eight years now.
Mann contested his first elections as Manpreet Badal led People’s Party of Punjab candidate from Lehra Gaga against the former Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal in 2012 assembly polls, and faced defeat. At that time, he declared his movable assets worth Rs 20.62 lakhs — including an Innova car worth Rs 10.83 lakh, 95 grams gold worth Rs 2.65 lakh; and immovable assets worth Rs 1.18 crore.
In his first Lok Sabha elections in 2014 as AAP candidate from Sangrur, Mann declared his movable property worth Rs 63.87 lakh including a Fortuner car and a cruise car, 95 grams of gold; and immovable property worth Rs 1.21 crore. In 2019 Lok Sabha elections, his movable property stood at Rs 38.27 lakh while the immovable property was Rs 1.26
crore.
Accompanied by his mother while filing his papers, Mann said that he expects that people of this constituency will ensure victory for him with the biggest margin in Punjab. “It is the time for writing history for Dhuri assembly segment…I expect that the people of Dhuri will make this seat victorious with the biggest margin in Punjab,” he said.
Mann said that the people of Dhuri want change. “I am happy that I have been nominated by the party from this assembly segment…Dhuri will be made a model assembly constituency,: he added.
Mann is a two-time MP from Sangrur parliamentary constituency. Dhuri is one of the assembly constituencies of Sangrur Lok Sabha seat. Replying to a question, Mann said that corruption, unemployment, mafia raj, inflation were among the major issues of the state.
Asked that his rival opponents accuse him of missing from this constituency, Mann said that he stays in Dhuri and visits villages of this constituency.
Presently, Dhuri is represented by Congress MLA Dalvir Singh Goldy who is again seeking re-election from this seat.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has fielded former Sangrur legislator Parkash Chand Garg from this seat.