Bhagwant Mann

Bhagwant Mann, the Chief Minister of Punjab, is one of the key leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)and the first from the AAP to become a CM of a full-fledged state. Born on October 17, 1973, in the village of Satauj, Sangrur district, Mann has risen through the ranks of Indian politics with his grassroots approach and dedication to the welfare of the people. Mann's early life was marked by his passion for performing arts, particularly comedy. He gained recognition as a talented comedian and actor in the Punjabi entertainment industry. Mann joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in 2011, drawn on its principles of anti-corruption and participatory governance. His ability to connect with the masses and his fiery speeches quickly earned him popularity and support. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, he contested from the Sangrur constituency and emerged victorious, becoming a Member of Parliament. In 2022, Bhagwant Mann led the party to beat the incumbent Congress and was appointed as the Chief Minister of Punjab. From a celebrated comedian to a parliamentarian and now the CM, the 48-year-old has seen one success after the other. Mann was 38 when he joined the People’s Party of Punjab (PPP), an experiment to “cleanse politics” by Manpreet Badal, the estranged cousin of current Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal; and 41 when he won his maiden Lok Sabha election in 2014 with a record margin against Akali stalwart S S Dhindsa from Sangrur, a seat he bagged again in 2019. Born into a landed Jat Sikh family of Satoj village in Sangrur, with 15 acres and Akali leanings, Mann’s first brush with fame came in his late teens when he enrolled for B.Com at Shaheed Udham Singh Government College at Sunam in 1991. Soon, he was a star standup comic at youth festivals, when few knew about this genre. A year on, he dropped out to pursue a career in comedy, releasing his first cassette at 19. What followed was a dream run, with a host of successful television series and movies, till he switched to full-time politics. Even now, most people in India’s comedy scene steer clear of politics, and resultant controversies. Fewer still succeed in hitting home with those jokes across social groups. But not Mann. Around election time in the 1990s, Mann’s cassettes would be chartbusters, with bus drivers playing them on a loop. When he veered towards politics, he decided he couldn’t go with traditional parties as he wanted to change the system, Mann says. So when Manpreet Badal approached him after forming the PPP in 2011, he found Mann willing. His younger sister is a teacher at a private school in Patiala. Mother Harpal Kaur, now known throughout AAP circles as “Bebe”, stands in for him when he is away, attending to people, solving their problems, calling up officials. Kaur has never been to Parliament, but as Mann says, she once sent saag and makki di roti to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.