Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Punjab Chief Minister-designate Bhagwant Mann is all set to take oath of office on March 16, even as hectic lobbying for ministerial berths in the new Cabinet is underway.
A day after winning 92 seats of the 117-member Assembly, on Friday, Mr. Mann went to Delhi to meet AAP supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
A party statement said Mr. Mann would take oath as Chief Minister at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of freedom fighter ‘Shaheed-e-Azam’ Bhagat Singh. Mr. Mann invited Mr. Kejriwal for his swearing-in ceremony. After his win, Mr. Mann stated in Sangrur that the party would follow the principles and ideals of Babasaheb Ambedkar and Shaheed Bhagat Singh and fulfill their dreams.
It has been decided that Mr. Mann and Mr. Kejriwal will visit Amritsar on March 13 to pay their obeisance at Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple), Durgiana Mandir, and Sri Ram Tirath Mandir.
Roadshow in Amritsar
Mr. Kejriwal and Mr. Mann will also lead a roadshow in Amritsar to celebrate their victory among people and to thank the voters.
According to party insiders, at the first around, half a dozen Ministers are expected to be part of the Cabinet, and expansion could take place later. Punjab can have a maximum of 17 Ministers in the Cabinet.
The party MLAs, who have won for the second time are front runners for becoming Ministers. They include Harpal Singh Cheema, who has been the leader of Opposition since 2018 in the Assembly, Kultar Singh Sandhwan, Aman Arora, Baljinder Kaur and Harjot Bains among others. The party is expected to stake claim to form a government by meeting Governor Banwarilal Purohit on March 12.
Mr. Purohit dissolved the 15th Assembly with effect from the afternoon of March 11, in pursuance of the powers conferred upon him by Sub-clause (b) of clause (2) of Article 174 of the Constitution.
Channi submits resignation
Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi submitted his resignation to Mr. Purohit.
“The Cabinet has given its recommendation to the Governor for dissolving the 15th Vidhan Sabha and I have submitted my resignation to the Governor,” Mr. Channi said after meeting the Governor.
“The Governor has asked me to continue till new government is sworn in. We accept people’s mandate. We will keep serving the people. People of Punjab have voted for change, they wanted a change,” he stated.
In the elections, the Congress was restricted to 18 seats. The Shiromani Akali Dal won three, while its alliance partner, the Bahujan Samaj Party won one seat. The BJP won two seats and one seat went to an Independent.
Published - March 11, 2022 05:47 pm IST
