Bhagwant Mann's 11-year journey from comedian to Chief Minister designate of Punjab

His 11-year journey from a political novice to the Chief Minister of Punjab state, was not a cakewalk for Bhagwant Singh Mann. After Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Delhi, 48-year-old Bhagwant Mann is the second Chief Minister of AAP in the country and 17th of the state of Punjab. A former comedian, writer and actor, Bhagwant Mann saw many ups and downs in life but hurdles failed to discourage him.

Born in a Sikh family on October 17, 1973, to father Mohinder Singh and mother Harpal Kaur in Satoj village of Sangrur district of Punjab, Bhagwant Mann pursued his graduation from Shaheed Udham Singh Government College, Sunam. Mann participated in youth comedy festivals and inter-college competitions during his college time.

Mann developed comedy routines about typical Indian issues such as politics , business and sport. In 2008, Mann competed in the Great Indian Laughter challenge on a famous TV channel which increased his audience. A master of social and political satire, he was also the undisputed king of comedy in the state with long-running television shows such as Jugnu Mast Mast.

Mann started his political career actively after joining the People's Party of Punjab (PPP) floated by Manpreet Singh Badal after quitting the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in 2011. He unsuccessfully contested Punjab Assembly elections from Lehra seat in 2012. In March 2014, Mann joined the AAP to contest elections in the Sangrur Parliamentary constituency. He successfully contested his first Lok Sabha election against former Union Minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa.

Expressing his resentment against the AAP leadership, Mann resigned from post of AAP convener, Punjab, after Arvind Kejriwal tendered an unconditional apology to Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia over drug mafia case. In 2017, he contested assembly elections against SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal from Jalalabad seat and lost with a huge margin of votes.

In May 2019, Mann was re-elected to Lok Sabha from Sangrur. He is the only Member of Parliament from AAP in the Lower House of the parliament. A divorcee, Mann separated from his wife over a year after the 2014 Parliamentary elections. He has a son and daughter who live in the US with their mother.

Mann was chosen as a Chief Ministerial candidate of AAP for the 2022 Punjab Assembly election on January 18, 2022. The selection was done by seeking online feedback from general public.

Mann won from Dhuri seat with a big margin of 58,206 votes on March 10. Under his leadership, the state unit of AAP made a clean sweep in the Assembly Election 2022 in Punjab by winning 92 out of 117 seats thus pushing most of its rivals to the margins. Scripting a new history, the AAP has become the first ever political party to win 92 seats in Punjab politics.