Punjabi Entertainer-turned politician Bhagwant Mann has finally made his breakthrough in his home state, being chosen as the Chief Ministerial face of Aam Aadmi Party, which is currently leading in the polls and is poised to make history by being the first non-traditional (Congress or Akali) party to rule the agricultural dominated state. But the question is whether Mann can take AAP to power where only Congress or Akalis have ruled. Many observers feel that Mann, a Jatt Sikh, and AAP are poised to form government given that both Ajkalis and Congress have been failed parties who have not really made the changes needed to put Punjab back on track economically and put widespread corruption in check.

DESIBUZZCanada founder and editor R. Paul Dhillon is in Punjab right now and he tells us that winds of change are blowing hard in the Golden state and he sees an AAP forming the next government with Mann even though it may be a minority-coalition government. “From  what I’m seeing and hearing in Chandigarh is that people of Punjab are ready to make a significant change in who governs them and they see the same old failed policies with the Congress and Badal Akalis and AAP represents real change even though that change may be hard to swallow for some like sand mafia and other corrupt actors in Punjab,” said Dhillon, who knew a day ahead that it was going to be Bhagwant Mann as AAP CM face as he had heard Punjab party chief Raghav Chadha was speaking glowingly about him Monday night in Chandigarh. “Even though AAP was supposed to form government last time out when they were expected to win 85 plus seats and only got 20 but this time I truly believe they are ready for a breakthrough and the primary reason is the Farmers movement in India known as Kisaan Andolan, which won a hard fought battle with the Narendra Modi government over their one-sided new farming laws. I believe that AAP in Punjab will be the biggest benefactor of the farmers’ movement which AAP government of party head Arvind Kejriwal fully supported in Delhi and in Punjab. This factor alone should win AAP a slim majority government but Punjab politics can still surprise but the election is AAP’s to lose,” Dhillon told DESIBUZZCanada.

By PD Raj – Senior Writer DESIBUZZCanada

With News Files

CHANDIGARH – Punjabi Entertainer-turned politician Bhagwant Mann has finally made his breakthrough in his home state, being chosen as the Chief Ministerial face of Aam Aadmi Party, which is currently leading in the polls and is poised to make history by being the first non-traditional (Congress or Akali) party to rule the agricultural dominated state.

But the question is whether Mann can take AAP to power where only Congress or Akalis have ruled. Many observers feel that Mann, a Jatt Sikh, and AAP are poised to form government given that both Ajkalis and Congress have been failed parties who have not really made the changes needed to put Punjab back on track economically and put widespread corruption in check.

DESIBUZZCanada founder and editor R. Paul Dhillon is in Punjab right now and he tells us that winds of change are blowing hard in the Golden state and he sees an AAP forming the next government with Mann even though it may be a minority-coalition government.

“From  what I’m seeing and hearing in Chandigarh is that people of Punjab are ready to make a significant change in who governs them and they see the same old failed policies with the Congress and Badal Akalis and AAP represents real change even though that change may be hard to swallow for some like sand mafia and other corrupt actors in Punjab,” said Dhillon, who knew a day ahead that it was going to be Bhagwant Mann as AAP CM face as he had heard Punjab party chief Raghav Chadha was speaking glowingly about him Monday night in Chandigarh.

“Even though AAP was supposed to form government last time out when they were expected to win 85 plus seats and only got 20 but this time I truly believe they are ready for a breakthrough and the primary reason is the Farmers movement in India known as Kisaan Andolan, which won a hard fought battle with the Narendra Modi government over their one-sided new farming laws. I believe that AAP in Punjab will be the biggest benefactor of the farmers’ movement which AAP government of party head Arvind Kejriwal fully supported in Delhi and in Punjab. This factor alone should win AAP a slim majority government but Punjab politics can still surprise but the election is AAP’s to lose,” Dhillon told DESIBUZZCanada.

Mann, a longtime frontrunner for Punjab leader, was declared by party’s national convenor Arvind Kejriwal at Mohali on Tuesday.

Though the declaration of Mann’s name for the chief ministerial candidate was a mere formality, as his name had been okayed by the party’s top brass last month, Kejriwal announced the decision based on a telephonic poll initiated by the party to allow voters to choose their CM candidate.

Announcing the results, Kejriwal said some people had voted for him even, though he had declared that he was not a candidate and these votes were declared invalid. “Everywhere I went, people would ask me about the party’s CM face. I would say that the party would choose a face that everyone will be proud of. We decided to conduct a poll so as to allow the people to choose their CM candidate. An astounding 93 per cent voters voted in favour of Bhagwant Mann,” he said, declaring him as the party’s CM face.

Arvind Kejriwal, Bhagwant Mann and other AAP leaders in Mohali on Tuesday. Tribune photo: Vicky

Mann, while thanking people for choosing him and the party for reposing faith in him, said that he was pulled into politics after his political satires gelled with the common man and they wanted him to help them. “Punjab is plagued by too many problems threatening the state’s future as well as future of its people. Unemployment, drug addiction, unviable agriculture – these issues do not allow me to sleep at night. If we win, we will ensure that we work only for the poor, underprivileged and deserving, not the kin of rich and powerful,” he said.

On this occasion, his sister, Manpreet Kaur and mother, Harpal Kaur, too, spoke and thanked the people of Punjab for choosing him.