Punjab: AAP’s giant killers fail to find place in Mann’s cabinet

PTI, Mar 19, 2022, 4:50 PM IST

Several AAP MLAs who emerged as giant killers by defeating political stalwarts of rival parties in the Punjab Assembly polls did not find a place in Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s cabinet.

Among these are Labh Singh Ugoke, who defeated former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi in the Bhadaur assembly segment by a margin of 37,558 votes, and Gurmeet Singh Khuddian, who beat Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patriarch Parkash Singh Badal in his traditional Lambi seat by 11,396 votes.

While Ugoke once ran a mobile repair shop, Khuddian had joined the AAP after quitting the Congress last year.

Jeevanjyot Kaur (50), a social activist, won from the Amritsar East seat, defeating former Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu and SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia from the Amritsar East seat.

Charanjit Singh, an eye surgeon, made Channi bite the dust in his home constituency Chamkaur Sahib.

AAP candidate Ajit Pal Singh Kohli defeated two-time chief minister Amarinder Singh in Patiala Urban, while Jagdeep Kamboj trounced SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal in Jalalabad.

Some of the two-time MLAs, including Aman Arora, Baljinder Kaur and Sarvjit Kaur Manuke, also did not get ministerial berths.

Ten AAP MLAs, including a woman, were inducted in the Mann-led cabinet in Punjab here on Saturday.

Barring Harpal Singh Cheema and Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, eight others are first-time MLAs.

There are 18 berths in the cabinet, including the chief minister.

The AAP stormed to power after winning 92 seats in the 117-member Punjab Assembly. Mann took oath as Punjab chief minister on Wednesday.