All smiles as Bhagwant Mann meets Kejriwal, Sisodia after AAP's Punjab win
Punjab election result: Bhagwant Mann has said he will be sworn in as CM at Bhagat Singh's ancestral village.
Bhagwant Mann, Punjab's chief minister-in-waiting, met Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi Friday, a day after the AAP claimed a thumping win in the 2022 election. AAP won 92 of the Punjab Assembly's 117 seats and is set form its first government outside the national capital. Mann was projected as the party's chief minister candidate last month - the AAP held a massive televoting drive to allow people to choose a prospective leader.
A video of Mann's meeting with Kejriwal, and Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, showed the three exchanging warm hugs and sporting broad grins. Mann fell at Kejriwal's feet to seek his blessing. The three met at the Delhi chief minister's residence.
Earlier in the day Mann said he would announce the date of his swearing-in ceremony, which he has said will be held at Khatkarkalan in Nawanshahr district, the ancestral village of legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh.
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"I will take oath as the chief minister in Bhagat Singh's village Khatkarkalan, not at the Raj Bhawa," Mann said as he addressed party workers and supporters at Dhuri, his constituency.
Mann won the Dhuri race from the Congress' Dalvir Singh by 60,000 votes.
Full Coverage: 2022 Punjab Assembly election
Channi has submitted his resignation as Punjab chief minister but he will stay on in that post till Mann is sworn in. "I have tendered my resignation to the governor," the outgoing chief minister said, "We accept the verdict of people."
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Kejriwal, meanwhile, responded today to Prime Minister Modi congratulating the AAP for its Punjab success. The Delhi chief minister said 'Thank you, sir'.
The BJP has much to be happy about too; the party has retained control of four states in this round of elections. Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Manipur, and Uttarakhand all remain in its hands.
The party wasn't quite as successful in Punjab though, where it tied up with former Congress leader and ex chief minister Amarinder Singh. Singh's outfit got zero seats and the BJP two.