R Krishna Das
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has lodged a thumping victory in Punjab. Amidst celebration and jubilation, there is one man who has reasons to be in distress.
Though AAP has come to the power in the second state, it could not be a good signal for its convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. For, Bhagwant Singh Mann—who is going to be the Chief Minister of the border and crucial state—is likely to overshadow Kejriwal.
Mann’s rise to the top in Punjab is a matter of grave concern for Kejriwal. While both Kejriwal and Mann would enjoy the same administrative protocol position, Punjab is politically much more significant than Delhi that will facilitate the new Chief Minister in AAP to consolidate his base in the party.
Following Constitutional obligations, the Delhi government doesn’t enjoy the same level of powers as any of the states of India. It will be a scoring point for the Punjab Chief Minister compared to his Delhi counterpart. The state has 117-member Assembly, 13 Lok Sabha seats and 7 Rajya Sabha seats.
Mann is someone who enjoys a lot of power and influence within the party and has his own style of functioning. The comedian-turned-politician is popular among party cadres, the factor that worked for him to be projected as Chief Minister’s face of AAP before the polls.
He has made it clear earlier also that he does not blindly follow Kejriwal. He indicated it when Kejriwal had apologised to Akali Dal’s Bikram Singh Majithia in 2018. The Punjab unit of the party had expressed its displeasure publicly and even Bhagwant Mann resigned as AAP’s Punjab chief.
In the given scenario, Bhagwat Mann is all set to become the tallest leader in AAP, an alarm bell of Kejriwal who has his overt say in the party affairs till now.
