PROFILES
Seen invariably donning a yellow turban and shouting slogans such as inquilab zindabad (long live revolution) at public rallies, Bhagwant Mann, the 48-year-old former comedian has just done what was seen impossible until a few years ago. He led the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to power in Punjab, defeating three mainstream parties — the ruling Congress, the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The AAP, founded in 2012 by Arvind Kejriwal who came to power in Delhi in 2015, swept the Punjab elections with 92 seats out of 117. Mr. Mann won from the Dhuri constituency by a margin of over 58,000 votes. He will be sworn in on March 16 at a ceremony in Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh. The new government of Punjab “will be run from villages and mohallas instead of palaces and farm houses,” Mr. Mann said. “People from houses across Punjab will come to the [swearing-in] ceremony, they will also pay tribute to Bhagat Singh. We will have a good Cabinet, historic decisions —that were never made before — will be made. So, you will have to wait,” he said after meeting the Governor.
Public’s ‘favourite’
Ahead of the 2022 Assembly polls, Mr. Mann, the AAP’s Punjab president and its most recognisable face, was named as its chief ministerial candidate. The party said his selection was based on a ‘public opinion’ poll conducted through telephone. Before Mr. Mann was formally announced as the party’s chief ministerial face, Mr. Kejriwal had said he was “very dear to me, he’s like a younger brother’. Mr. Mann was quick to seize the momentum. He took hold of the party’s electoral campaign, galvanised its cadre, leading to what he called “a victory of the common people”. He is now in the top league of political leaders in the State.
Known for his satires on political leaders, Mr. Mann, however, ran a campaign taking up almost all serious political and social issues in the State, from unemployment to the drug problem and mafia groups. He offered change to the masses which grew increasingly impatient with the established political classes. And the voters seem to have bought it.
Balbir Singh, a senior AAP member and MLA, says people call Mr. Mann a comedian, but in his satires, the “tragedy of Punjab” could be clearly seen. “He reflects the pain of Punjab, which the people associate with themselves. He is a person with a mission and is on the right track, who will restore the lost glory of Punjab,” says Mr. Singh.
Mr. Mann, a two-time Lok Sabha MP, was born in Sangrur’s Satoj village in October 1973. He participated in youth comedy festivals and inter-college competitions as a student at Shaheed Udham Singh Government College. He released comedy videos and music albums, besides performing in Punjabi movies. His comedy career blossomed in 2008 when he participated in the Great Indian Laughter Challenge on Star Plus and left a mark among national audiences.
He stepped into mainstream politics in 2011 as he joined the Punjab People's Party (PPP) of Manpreet Singh Badal. In 2014, Mr. Mann left the PPP and joined the AAP. He contested the 2014 parliamentary elections from the Sangrur constituency and won. In 2019, Mr. Mann got re-elected from the same constituency in 2019—he was the only AAP candidate who won from Punjab in that year’s parliamentary election.
In Punjab, where the colour of turbans is a way of signifying political affiliations, Mr. Mann’s yellow turban was seen as a symbol of ‘revolution’ by his supporters. Party members assert that yellow is associated with ‘Basant’ — the arrival of spring— signifying a blooming change. Besides, inquilab zindabad, which was immortalised by Bhagat Singh, has been a rallying cry for mass mobilisation for the AAP.
Mann’s share of controversies
Mr. Mann had his share of controversies as well. In 2016, as an MP, he shot a video in the Parliament complex and put it on social media, triggering a controversy. Later, he apologised. Mr. Mann has often come under attack from his opponents who allege he is an ‘alcoholic’. He was accused of coming to public events drunk. Suspended AAP MP Harinder Khalsa even complained to the then Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan about Mr. Mann coming under the influence of alcohol to Parliament. In 2019, amid mounting criticism, Mr. Mann took a vow at an AAP event to never touch alcohol again.
Mr. Mann says he has joined politics only to bring back “the prosperity and glory” of Punjab. He offered an era of the common people. The voters backed his narrative. Now the challenge before him is to walk the talk.
