new Delhi: In Punjab, ten ministers took oath in the cabinet led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday. Of the ministers, eight have become legislators for the first time and one is a woman minister.
Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also decided to nominate Kultar Singh Sandhwan as the Speaker of the Punjab Assembly, news agency PTI reported.
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The swearing-in ceremony of Mann’s cabinet took place at the Punjab Raj Bhavan.
In a tweet on Friday evening, Bhagwant Mann put up a picture naming the 10 party MLAs who would take oath as ministers and congratulated them.
Five of the ten MLAs represent the Malwa region, four from Majha and one from Doaba. Notably, the four MLAs sworn in as ministers represent reserved constituencies like Dirba, Jandiala, Malout and Bhoa.
The 10 ministers of Punjab who took oath include:
- Harpal Singh Cheema: Second time MLA from Dirba and Dalit face of the party. He was also the Leader of the Opposition in the previous Assembly. A lawyer by profession, he defeated Gulzar Singh Moonak of Shiromani Akali Dal by a margin of 50,655 votes.
He was first elected as an MLA in 2017 and also served as a member of the Vidhan Sabha Committee on Welfare of SCs, STs and BCs.
- Gurmeet Singh Meat Hair: The two-time Barnala MLA is the president of AAP’s youth wing. He defeated SAD candidate Kulwant Singh Keetu by a margin of 37,622 votes.
- Dr. Baljit Kaur: Malout MLA is the only woman here Bhagwant Mann An eye surgeon by cabinet profession, she is the daughter of Sadhu Singh, who was the AAP MP from Faridkot from 2014 to 2019.
Baljit defeated SAD candidate Harpreet Singh by 40,261 votes from Malout in Muktsar district.
- Harjot Bath: Harjot Bains is elected from Anandpur Sahib constituency. He defeated former speaker and Congress candidate Rana KP Singh. A lawyer by profession, JE had contested from Sahnewal in 2017 and was unsuccessful. Harjot is the former president of the youth wing of the party.
- Dr. Vijay Singla: Mansa MLA is a Dentist. He defeated popular Punjabi singer and Congress candidate Shubhdeep Singh, also known as Sidhu Moosewala, by a huge margin of 63,323 votes.
- Harbhajan Singh: He won from Jandiala by defeating Punjab Congress Working President Sukhwinder Singh Dani. Harbhajan had unsuccessfully contested from this seat in 2017.
- Lal Chand Kataruchak: He was the president of the SC wing of AAP. Lal Chand won from Bhoa seat of Pathankot by defeating Congress candidate Joginder Pal.
- Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal: Ajnala MLA defeated SAD candidate Amarpal Singh. He contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Amritsar.
- Laljit Singh Bhullar: He defeated political stalwart Adesh Pratap Singh Kairon, son-in-law of former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, from Patti seat. Laljit Bhullar had joined AAP in 2019.
- Brahm Shanker: The MLA elected from Hoshiarpur seat defeated former minister and Congress candidate Sundar Sham Arora.
Before the swearing-in ceremony, Dr. Baljit Kaur thanked the people of Punjab and the AAP high command, “AAP has a good mindset that they have included a woman in the cabinet. I will perform all my duties honestly. A woman and a doctor, I will work for the development of women and the health sector.”
There are 18 berths in the cabinet including that of the Chief Minister.
After taking oath, the newly appointed minister will take charge in the Punjab Civil Secretariat.
Sources said that according to PTI sources, the first cabinet meeting of the AAP government will be held in the afternoon.
Earlier, the names of Aman Arora, Baljinder Kaur, and Sarvjit Kaur Manuke, a two-time AAP MLA, were also in the news for ministerial posts.
(with agency input)