It was an era where the internet had not taken over. And pocket-sized audio cassettes released by Mann with titles like ‘Kulfi garma garam’ (Hot ice candy) were a rage across the state. As a comedian, Mann connected the rustic Punjabi humour with political satire.
It was not unusual to find his audio cassettes being played in old black tape recorders fitted onto tractors that ploughed the fertile fields of Punjab’s Malwa. Punjabis love a hearty laugh. A trait Mann shares with political opponent Navjot Singh Sidhu. Mann’s earthy humour often reflected people’s aspirations and their clash with the social and political realities of the state.
And when he burst on to the national scene appearing on prime time comedy shows, Mann was already a wildly popular celebrity in Punjab.
Entry into politics
In 2011, Bhagwant Mann joined the People’s Party of Punjab floated by Manpreet Singh Badal, now the finance minister in the Charanjit Singh Channi-led Congress government. The man who constantly made fun of politicians, became one. Probably, Mann felt that aspirations of the people were not just a laughing matter. He contested from the Lehra constituency but lost.
Aam Aadmi Party
In 2014, when the country’s politics was witnessing a tectonic shift with the rise of Narendra Modi at the national scene and the emergence of Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi, Mann was one of the first prominent faces to join Arvind Kejriwal’s outfit in Punjab. He contested the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat in 2014. Despite the presence of Congress and Akali candidates, Mann won by a margin of over 2 lakh votes. The Jat-Sikh comedian went on to become AAP‘s flagbearer in Punjab. He again won the Sangrur seat in 2019.
2017 Punjab polls
The AAP made its debut in Punjab elections in 2017. Many believed that Mann was the natural choice if the party came to power. The Akali-BJP government after a decade in power were set to lose the elections. There were other leaders and factions as well. Former Akali leader Sucha Singh Chotepur was head of the state unit but left after a controversy. Political opponents, meanwhile, also ran campaigns, including on social media, seeking to dub Mann as a person given in to alcohol. AAP won 20 seats but came no close to grabbing. The Congress led by Amarinder Singh won 77 seats and a brute majority in the assembly.
Controversies
In his more than a decade in politics, Mann has also been in the eye of many a storm.
In 2019, to counter opponents who painted him an alcoholic, Mann, with his mother Harpal Kaur on his side, pledged to quit drinking alcohol to avoid any embarrassment to the party due to his habits. Mann confessed before a large crowd gathered for AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal’s rally that he used to drink alcohol occasionally.
In 2018, Mann quit as head of AAP’s Punjab unit when Arvind Kejriwal retracted allegations that he had made against Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia.
In 2016, Mann as an MP livestreamed one of his visit to the Parliament on social media. Mann was accused of undermining the security of the parliament complex that has been targeted by terrorists in the past. Mann, however, remained defiant. And his supporters also remained steadfast.
Has the witty Sardar got his timing right this time?
On Tuesday, the AAP announced Mann as its chief ministerial face.
AAP’s national convenor Arvind Kejriwal said that over 21 lakh people responded to the party’s call to name a chief ministerial candidate. “Some had named me and those votes were considered invalid,” said Kejriwal.
Of the rest, over 90 per cent named Bhagwant Mann, said Kejriwal. Interestingly, several people also named Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, as their choice.
Bhagwant Mann will be the party’s chief ministerial face, Kejriwal announced as drumbeats took over.
One of the seniormost AAP leaders, Mann has waited for several years for his moment. The party led by Kejriwal has also aggressively campaigning on the theme that after having seen Akalis and Congress, the people of the state should give it one chance. However, questions about AAP’s ability to win Punjab still remain.
The party had won 20 seats in the Malwa region in 2017 but in Majha and Doaba regions it failed to make a mark. Will the party be able to gain new territory this season. Secondly, the farmers unions, who were expected to support the party are now contesting independently. The ruling Congress has also made Channi, the state’s first Dalit chief minister. Can Mann ensure that his party can ward of the challenge from Congress, Akalis, Amarinder-BJP and the farmers’ party?
Only the voters of Punjab, who cast their ballots on February 20, can tell.
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