Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday announced names of ten Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislators, including senior leaders Harpal Cheema and Vijay Singla, who will becomes ministers in his cabinet.
The new ministers will take oath on Saturday, Mann said in a tweet.Cheema is the AAP legislator from Dirba area, and is one of the senior-most party leaders. Considering his stature in the party’s Punjab unit, he is expected to get a major portfolio in the government.Baljit Kaur is another MLA whom Mann has picked to become a member in his team. The Malout MLA is the only lady who will be swearing in as a minister in the Mann cabinet.Singla is another prominent face of the party who won the Mansa seat trouncing high-profile singer Shubhdeep Singh who is generally known in the state as Sidhu Moosewala.
Bhoa MLA Lal Chand Kataru Chak, who is the MLA from Bhoa, has also been included. The other names in the Bhagwant Mann cabinet are Jandiala MLA Harbhajan Singh, Barnala MLA Gurmeet Singh Meethayer and Kuljit Singh Dhaliwal who won from Ajnala in Majha area.
Apart from these Patti MLA Laljit Singh Bhullar, Brahm Shankar, MLA from Hoshiarpur in Doaba region, and Harjot Singh Bains from Anandpur Sahib will be made ministers.The AAP appears to have tried to give representation to the three geographical regions of the state – Malwa, Majha and Doaba. Bhagwant Mann himself hails from Malwa, which is the largest region of the state and sends 69 MLAs to the assembly.AAP has also tried to give representation to all prominent segments of the population.The performance of Bhagwant Mann and his cabinet will be keenly watched as the AAP has received a massive mandate winning 92 of the state’s 117 assembly seats.The party has promised several welfare measures and a corruption-free regime.Bhagwant Mann had earlier this week taken oath as chief minister as Bhagat Singh’s native village Khatkar Kalan.
