Bhagwant Singh Mann is AAP’s CM face in Punjab

Over 93% of 21 lakh people voted in his favour: Kejriwal

New Delhi, Jan. 18 (Delhi Crown): Lok Sabha MP Bhagwant Singh Mann will be the chief ministerial candidate of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab, that goes to polls on Feb. 20.

Announcing this on Tuesday, AAP National Convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that his party received more than 21 lakh responses from people during its campaign to elect its CM face, and that 93 percent of the respondents chose Mann.

Before joining politics, Mann had made a mark in Punjab as a stand-up comedian.

After his selection as the CM face of his party, Mann said he had a double responsibility on his shoulders as he has been named not only by the party but also by the people of the state.

Mann had joined the AAP in 2014 and won from the Sangrur parliamentary seat by 2,11,721 votes. In the 2017 Assembly polls, AAP pitted him against Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Badal from Jalabad but he lost by a margin of 18,500 votes. He won the Sangrur parliamentary seat again in 2019 by a margin of over 1,11,000 votes

Mann remained the convener of AAP’s Punjab unit but resigned in 2018, a day after Arvind Kejriwal tendered an unconditional apology to Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia over a defamation case.

He returned as the state party president in January 2019.

Mann has often been accused of getting drunk even during the day. He was even accused of attending parliament proceedings in a drunken state.

Accused of being alcoholic, at a rally held by AAP at Barnala in 2019 he swore not to touch alcohol again.

Mann is separated from his wife who lives in the US with their two children, a son and a daughter. He is known for his trademark ‘basanti’ turban, a colour associated with Shaheed Bhagat Singh.

Reacting to Mann been projected as the CM face, his sister Manpreet Kaur said, “I’m very happy to see the respect and affection my brother is receiving. Hope it continues and he lives up to the expectations. It’s a matter of pride for any sister to see her brother progress.”

His mother Harpal Kaur said – “We are very happy…He always followed his heart- be it becoming an artist (stand-up comedian) or a politician, we never stopped him. They (Aam Aadmi Party) will win by God’s grace. People want them to win.”