Bhagwant Mann to take oath as Punjab CM on March 16

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s Punjab chief minister designate Bhagwant Mann will take oath along with a few cabinet ministers on March 16.

The swearing-in ceremony will be held at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh. AAP national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and several of his ministers will be present at the event. The date was announced after Mann met Kejriwal at the latter’s residence in New Delhi and invited him for the ceremony.

“My younger brother Bhagwant Mann will take oath as the Chief Minister of Punjab. Today he came to my house to invite me for his oath-taking ceremony. I am sure that as a Chief Minister, Bhagwant will fulfill every expectation of the people of Punjab,” Kejriwal wrote on Twitter.

Will meet guv today

The AAP won a massive mandate on Thursday, taking 92 seats in the 117-member state assembly.

All the newly elected legislators elected Mann as the leader of the AAP legislature party, and he will meet governor Banwarilal Purohit at 10.30 am on Saturday to stake claim to form the government. Addressing the MLAs, Mann asked them to spend maximum time in their constituencies, not in Chandigarh, and not hanker after cabinet berths. The CM-designate appealed to his MLAs not to be arrogant and discriminatory. “You are also the MLAs of those who have not voted for you. There can be no discrimination on this count. You are the MLAs of Punjabis,” he said, outlining his governance mantra.

Mann also told them to work at places where they had gone to seek votes. “We went to people to seek votes and now that we have won, we cannot tell them to come to Chandigarh to meet us. All MLAs must work in the areas from where they have been elected,” he said, adding, “This government will be run from villages, wards and mohallas.”

Front runners for cabinet berth

Speaking on the limited number of cabinet berths, Mann said there can be 17 cabinet ministers besides the CM. “The remaining 75 do not have to get upset. You are all cabinet ministers for me. People have high expectations from our government just the way they expected (cricketer) Sachin Tendulkar to score in every match,” he said.

Though the CM-designate did not give details, at least eight ministers are expected to take oath along with him. The names of former leader of opposition Harpal Singh Cheema (MLA from Dirba), Aman Arora (Sunam), Kultar Singh Sandhwan (Kotkapura) Sarvjit Kaur Manuke (Jagraon), Harjot Singh Bains (Anandpur Sahib) and Gurmeet Singh Hayer (Barnala) are doing the rounds for cabinet berths. Most of these are sitting MLAs who have again won their seats.

Mann also held a meeting with chief secretary Anirudh Tewari and director general of police VK Bhawra at his residence in Mohali. Kejriwal and Mann will hold a road show in Amritsar on Sunday.