Punjab: Despite trouncing heavyweights, many MLAs missing from Bhagwant Mann’s cabinet

Amritsar: Though four MLAs, all first-timers, from Punjab's Majha region have got a place in Bhagwant Singh Mann’s cabinet but some prominent faces who had trounced heavyweights are disappointed for not being inducted in the cabinet and are now pinning hopes on the first expansion of Mann’s cabinet.

Lal Chand Kataruchak, Harbhajan Singh ETO, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, and Laljit Singh Bhullar who won assembly elections from Bhoa, Jandiala, Ajnala, and Patti assembly constituencies respectively have been inducted in the cabinet but other first time MLA including giant slayer Jeevanjot Kaur, former Inspector General of Police Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh and Dr. Inderbir Singh Nijjar has been left high and dry.

MLA from Amritsar East assembly constituency Jeevanjot Kaur had trounced heavyweights including former Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Navjot Singh Sidhu and former Akali minister Bikram Singh Majithia. While Kunwar had defeated former minister Anil Joshi from Amritsar North assembly constituency who had defected BJP to join SAD(B). Similarly, Nijjar had contested against Congress party’s influential candidate and three-time MLA Inderbir Singh Solaria from Amritsar South assembly constituency.

Two ministers from Majha namely Kataruchak and Dhaliwal had been associated with the Communist Party of India and the Revolutionary Marxist Party of India respectively and had been actively campaigning in various movements in past. While another two ministers Harbhajan Singh ETO was a teacher turned Excise and Taxation Officer who resigned from the government post to join politics and had earlier contested assembly elections in 2017 from Jandiala assembly constituency on AAP’s ticket but lost to his Congress party’s opponent candidate Sukhwinder Singh Danny. Laljit Singh Bhullar, a commission agent, and an agriculturist had been hopping between Congress and SAD(B) before joining AAP.

“In past a few leaders had quit the AAP including HS Phoolka, Sukhpal Khaira since they had challenged the AAP’s leadership and blamed them from deviating from the ideology and principles on which it was formed after Anna Hazare movement so the decision to induct MLAs in the AAP’s Punjab cabinet which is first outside Delhi is taken by AAP’s national convenor Arvind Kejriwal after calculating all possibilities to avoid any threat to AAP’s center leadership from any MLA” said a senior source in AAP while talking to Zee News.

However, those who have been left out of the cabinet like Jeevanjot, Kunwar, and Nijjar are still pinning hopes to be inducted into the cabinet in its first expansion.