Bhagwant Mann is AAP da CM for Punjab

Aam Aadmi Party national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal makes much-awaited announcement of ‘dulha’ in Mohali after 93% responses go in favour of Punjab AAP chief

It’s official, Punjab Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) president and Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann will be the AAP’s chief ministerial candidate in the February 20 assembly elections.

Punjab Aam Aadmi Party president Bhagwant Mann with AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal after he was named the party’s chief ministerial candidate in Mohali on Tuesday. (Ravi Kumar/HT)

AAP national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal made the much-awaited announcement at a party function in Mohali on Tuesday afternoon. “Wherever I went, everyone asked me dulha kaun hoga (who is the groom?). We decided to ask 3 crore people of Punjab,” said Kejriwal, hours after the AAP received around 22 lakh responses under its campaign to elect its CM face.

“93.3% of the responses favoured Mann,” Kejriwal declared as the Punjab AAP chief looked on smiling from the stage, where he was seated along with Punjab leader of opposition Harpal Singh Cheema, party Punjab affairs in-charge Jarnail Singh and AAP co-incharge Raghav Chadha.

Interestingly, the Delhi CM said that 3% of the respondents even named state Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu as the CM face of AAP!

Kejriwal had on January 13 asked the people of Punjab to suggest names of their preferred chief ministerial candidates and launched a mobile number for the purpose. He said though he wanted Mann’s name to be declared as the CM candidate, the MP insisted that people should make the decision. Kejriwal had clarified that he was not in the race.

Aam Aadmi Party supporters celebrating the announcement of Bhagwant Mann as the Punjab CM face in Mohali on Tuesday afternoon. Social distancing norms were, however, thrown to the wind as the celebrations took over. (Ravi Kumar/HT)

LED screens were installed for Kejriwal’s live press conference at Mann’s native Satoj village in Sangrur district, where celebrations broke out soon after Kejriwal announced his name as the CM candidate.