From his early days as a profound comic actor and satirist on television to his days as a people's politician, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Bhagwant Mann has come of age.
The Modi juggernaut was unstoppable in 2014 Lok Sabha elections and offered a massive mandate to the saffron party but alongside, a rookie party that until then had no tangible footprints on the national electoral politics left its mark blunting the Modi wave in border state Punjab. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) then won four MP seats in the country, all from Punjab.
Ever since, if there’s one person who withstood much of the opposition onslaught and offered wings to the AAP in Punjab, it’s Bhagwant Mann alias Jugnu. A former Punjabi comic actor, Mann has proved his mettle as a politician connecting with people at the grassroots. In 2019, Mann yet again won his MP seat from Punjab.
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As Punjab goes to polls shortly, AAP is seen as a formidable challenger to mainstream political parties. Mann (48), who is also president of the AAP's Punjab unit, will play a decisive role and will be eying the chief ministerial post if his party comes to power. It has so far resisted naming the CM face.
MP Bhagwant Mann has been the one to call a spade a spade, even if it has meant expressing displeasure against his party national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. In 2018, Mann resigned from the post of party president after Arvind Kejriwal apologised to former Punjab minister and Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia for allegations against him for his involvement in drug trade. Mann then tweeted saying, “I am resigning as a president of AAP Punjab ...but my fight against drug mafia and all kinds of corruption in Punjab will continue as an ‘Aam Aadmi’ of Punjab”.
Mann stands vindicated today with the state crime branch booking Majithia in a drug case. In the run to the assembly polls, Kejriwal’s apology, that Mann protested then, has now offered fodder to the opposition parties.
Mann has had his share of controversies in politics. He has been targeted as an alcoholic and has often been accused of reeking of alcohol, even as Mann claims to be only a social drinker. Visuals of an MP getting close to Mann to smell him of alcohol while he was speaking in the Lok Sabha had left many amused. Perhaps realising the extent of damage the label was doing to him, his party and his political prospects, Mann in 2019 vowed not to drink and claimed to have turned into a teetotaler, what Kejriwal called "a great sacrifice for the people of Punjab".
The MP from Sangrur successfully runs an NGO “Lok Lehar Foundation” that is aimed at helping kids prey to physical deformities resulting from pollution of groundwater in the border areas of Punjab. Mann had earned applause for helping Punjabi youth stranded in Iraq and other parts of the world when he had facilitated their return.
The recent spectacular debut of the AAP in capital city Chandigarh municipal corporation elections, where it won a majority of seats, has buoyed hopes of the AAP in Punjab. The party has 20 MLAs in Punjab.
Before he jumped into politics, Mann was a popular name in Punjab, especially in the hinterland, for his side-splitting comic acts. His quick-witted jibes and satirical postscripts — targeted at his opponents — are a crowd favourite. Mann, a college dropout, became famous through a popular television comedy contest where he competed with fellow comedian Kapil Sharma. After prolonged estranged bouts in his marriage, Mann and his wife Inderpreet Kaur separated in 2015. He has two children.
MP Bhagwant Mann, who is also the president of the Punjab unit of the AAP, has been the one to call a spade a spade, even if it has meant expressing displeasure against his party national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. In 2018, Mann resigned from the post of the party president following an apology by Arvind Kejriwal to former Punjab minister and Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia for levelling allegations of his involvement in the drug trade. Mann then tweeted saying, “I am resigning as a president of AAP Punjab ...but my fight against drug mafia and all kinds of corruption in Punjab will continue as an ‘Aam Aadmi’ of Punjab”.
Mann stands ‘vindicated’ today with the state crime branch booking Majithia in a drug case. In the run to the assembly polls, Kejriwal’s apology, that Mann protested then, has now offered fodder to the opposition parties.
Mann has had his share of controversies in politics. He has been targeted as an alcoholic, even as Mann claims to be only a social drinker. He has often been accused of reeking alcohol. Visuals of an MP getting close to Mann to smell him of alcohol while he was speaking in the Lok Sabha had left many amused. Perhaps realizing the extent of the damage he was doing to himself, his party and his political prospects, Mann in 2019 vowed not to drink and claimed to have turned into a teetotaler, something that Kejriwal commented saying ‘it was a great sacrifice for the people of Punjab’.
The MP from Sangrur successfully runs an NGO “Lok Lehar Foundation” that is aimed at helping kids with physical deformities, essentially as a result of pollution of groundwater in the border areas of Punjab. Mann had earned applause from people for helping Punjabi youth stranded in Iraq and other parts of the world. He had facilitated their return to Punjab.
The recent spectacular debut of the AAP in capital city Chandigarh municipal corporation elections, where it won a majority of seats, has buoyed hopes of the AAP in Punjab. The party has 20 MLA in Punjab.
Bhagwant Mann’s image as a leader has remained free of the taint of corruption. His lifestyle sans any ostentation and flamboyance makes him a mass leader. In 2014, Mann won his seat with the highest margin. His narrative and public posturing remain simple, straightforward and appealing to the people.
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