‘Golden rays of sun bring a new dawn…’: Bhagwant Mann on Punjab's future
Bhagwant Mann swearing-in: AAP leader Bhagwant Mann, 48, today became Punjab's youngest CM since the 1970s.
The 'golden rays of the sun herald a new dawn for Punjab', Bhagwant Mann tweeted Wednesday morning, hours before he was sworn in as the next chief minister of an Aam Aadmi Party government that claimed a surprising (and dominant) win in the 2022 Assembly election. The AAP claimed 92 of 117 Assembly seats, leaving a bruised Congress with just 18 and a lot of introspection to do ahead of polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh later this year. Mann, a former comic, replace the Congress' Charanjit Channi as the Punjab chief minister at a ceremony scheduled to begin at 12.30 pm.
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"The golden ray of sun has brought a new dawn today. To realize the dreams of Shaheed Bhagat Singh and Baba Saheb, the whole of Punjab will take oath today at Khatkar Kalan," Mann tweeted in Hindi and Punjabi.
LIVE UPDATES: Bhagwant Mann swearing in ceremony
Mann, 48, has become Punjab's youngest chief minister in nearly four decades, and took his oath at the ancestral village of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh.
AAP boss and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal also tweeted to congratulate Mann on his success and to invite the people of Punjab to work together for the state's development.
"Today is a big day for Punjab. In this golden morning of new hope, today the whole of Punjab will come together and take a pledge to make a prosperous Punjab," he said.
Raghav Chadha, the party's Punjab co-in-charge, tweeted: "Today marks an important day in the history of Punjab as three crore Punjabis will together be sworn in as chief minister along with Bhagwant Mann."
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin have also offered Bhagwant Mann their congratulations.
Over three lakh people are expected to attend, news agency PTI reported.
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The list of special invitees included renowned singer Gurdas Mann, Manmohan Waris and his brother Kamal Heer, Karamjit Anmol, Binnu Dhillon and other famous personalities from the Punjabi music and film industries.
READ: Akhilesh Yadav congratulates Bhagwant Mann ahead of swearing-in
Those not in attendance, however, were be the outgoing chief minister Charanjit Channi, who added to the Congress' poll woes by losing from both Bhadaur and Chamkaur Saheb in last month's election.
The Congress' state boss, Navjot Sidhu, also lost, and has resigned his position in accordance with directives from party leader Sonia Gandhi.
Earlier Mann invited the people to his oath-taking ceremony and urged men to wear 'basanti' (yellow) turbans and women 'dupatta' (shawl) of the same colour.