Punjab: CM-elect Bhagwant Mann To Take Oath Alone On Wednesday, 16 MLAs To Be Sworn In Later

Only AAP chief ministerial pick for Punjab, Bhagwant Singh Mann, will take oath on Wednesday.

Punjab CM-elect Bhagwant Mann (Getty Images)

New Delhi: AAP created history in Punjab by routing ruling Congress and blowing other parties to smithereens in the 2022 Assembly elections and Bhagwant Mann is all set to take oath as the chief minister of the state on March 16. 

While people were eager to know who all will be joining Mann's cabinet, people will have to wait for some more time as only the CM will be sworn in on March 16. According to an ANI report, 16 MLAs will be taking oath as ministers in Punjab but they will not be sworn in on the same date as Mann. 

The party will be revealing details about the swearing-in ceremony of cabinet ministers later. 

Mann will take oath as the chief minister of Punjab on March 16 at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of iconic freedom fighter Bhagat Singh.

Bhagwant Mann on Saturday staked claim to form government in the state after meeting Governor Banwarilal Purohit here.

After the meeting, Mann told reporters outside the Raj Bhawan that he handed over a letter of support of his party MLAs to the governor who accepted it.

"We staked claim to form the government and the governor sahib approved it", Mann said, quoted a PTI report.

The 48-year-old Mann was elected the AAP Legislature Party leader at a meeting of the party MLAs in Mohali on Friday.

While AAP bagged a historic win in the Punjab polls by bagging 92 seats in the 117-member assembly, the ruling Congress, which won 77 seats in 2017, was reduced to 18 seats with most of its big leaders including CM Charanjit Channi and state party chief Navjot Singh Sidhu faced humiliating defeat from their respective strongholds.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its previous ally Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) failed in securing even a double-digit tally.

The BJP, which had won three seats in 2017 when it had contested in alliance with the SAD, secured only two seats, while SAD won four seats.