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Meet ministers in Bhagwant Mann’s cabinet
Chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s team is probably one of the youngest cabinets in recent years with an average age of about 47 years. All, except two, are first-time legislators, including the 48-year-old chief minister himself, who, though elected to Lok Sabha twice, also made his debut in the state assembly this time
Harpal Singh Cheema, 47
Constituency: Dirba (reserved)
An advocate by profession, Cheema, the party’s Dalit face, was the leader of opposition (LOP) in the previous assembly. Considered close to the Delhi leadership, the media-savvy two-time MLA was appointed LOP in July 2018 in place of Sukhpal Singh Khaira who rebelled against the party leadership in July 2018. He has been the voice of the party on important issues within and outside the assembly.
Dr Baljit Kaur, 46
Constituency: Malout (reserved)
An eye surgeon, she is the lone woman in the cabinet. The mother of two is the daughter of former AAP MP Prof Sadhu Singh who represented Faridkot in the Lok Sabha from 2014 to 2019. Kaur joined the AAP on January 1 this year after quitting her job at the Muktsar civil hospital last year. Her husband Daljit Singh is an executive engineering with the PSPCL.
Harbhajan Singh, 53
Constituency: Jandiala (reserved)
The former excise and taxation officer (ETO) won the seat in his second attempt, defeating Congress working president Sukhwinder Singh Danny. He had started out as a teacher with MA (political science) degree before joining the government service. He resigned from the taxation department in 2017 to join the AAP and contested previous assembly election, but came third. He finished his law degree last year and became an advocate.
Dr Vijay Singla, 52
Constituency: Mansa
One of the 13 doctors in the state assembly, Singla, a dentist, defeated popular Punjabi singer and Congress nominee Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, aka Sidhu Moosewala, by the third highest victory margin of 63,323 votes. Associated with the AAP since 2015, Singla was a contender for the AAP ticket in 2017 also, but got overlooked. Nazar Singh Manshahia won the seat for the AAP, but rebelled to join the Congress.
Lal Chand Kataruchak, 51
Constituency: Bhoa (reserved)
A former comrade, Kataruchak was the state treasurer of the Revolutionary Marxist Party of India (RMPOI). In July 2020, he joined the AAP, which appointed him as the Scheduled Caste (SC) wing president. He defeated Congress’ Joginder Pal by 1,204 votes. As the RMPOI nominee, he trailed in the third position in 2017 with 10% of the total votes polled. A matriculate, he declared “social work” as his occupation.
Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, 32
Constituency: Barnala
A two-time legislator, Meet Hayer is the state youth wing president of the AAP and led several protests for the party in various parts of Punjab in the past five years. He defeated SAD’s Kulwant Singh Ketu by 37,622 votes. He has a BTech degree from the Swami Vivekanand Institute of Engineering and Technology. Hayer was among the founder members of the party in Punjab.
Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, 60
Constituency: Ajnala
A matriculate, Dhaliwal, who defeated Amarpal Singh Bonny of the SAD, belongs to Jagdev Kalan village in Ajnala. He had joined the AAP in early 2015 after returning from the US where his family lives. Dhaliwal, according to his poll affidavit, was booked in 2019 at Rajasansi police station under various sections, including 302 (murder) of the IPC, but the Punjab and Haryana high court stayed his arrest in the case. In 2019, he was the AAP candidate from Amritsar Lok Sabha seat, but lost, polling just 2.34% votes.
Laljit Singh Bhullar, 40
Constituency: Patti
A former Akali worker, Bhullar defeated SAD patriarch Parkash Singh Badal’s son-in-law and four-time former MLA Adesh Partap Singh Kairon by 11,000 votes. An agriculturist-cum-arhtiya (commission agent), he was a staunch supporter of then food and civil supplies minister Kairon for several years and actively worked in his constituency. He later quit the SAD over sacrilege cases and joined the Congress before hopping over to the AAP after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He has studied up to Class 12.
Bram Shanker Jimpa, 56
Constituency: Hoshiarpur
An industrialist by profession, Jimpa is the only minister from Doaba. He defeated former industries minister Sunder Sham Arora of the Congress. The four-time municipal councillor was in the Congress, but joined the AAP last year after being denied nomination for the MC polls which he contested as an Independent and won. A former vice-chairman of the PSIDC, he is one of the two ministers from the Hindu community. He has studied up to class 12 and runs an activated carbon unit.
Harjot Singh Bains, 31
Constituency: Anandpur Sahib
An advocate by profession, the first-time legislator is the youngest minister. He defeated former speaker Rana KP Singh by 45,780 votes. Among the founder members of the AAP in Punjab, Bains had contested the 2017 assembly election from Sahnewal, but came third with 24% votes. He is a member of the national executive of the AAP. He did BA LLB (Hons) from Panjab University, Chandigarh, in 2014 and has a certificate in international human rights law from the London School of Economics.
