New Delhi: In what may further embarrass the Congress post the humiliating defeat in Punjab, cricketer-turned politician Navjot Singh on Thursday lauded new Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and said that he would unfurl “a new anti-Mafia era” in the state.


“The happiest man is the one from whom no one expects ... Bhagwant Mann unfurls a new anti - Mafia era in Punjab with a mountain of expectations ...hope he rises to the occasion, brings  back Punjab on the revival path with pro - people policies ... best always,” he tweeted.



Sidhu’s remarks came a day after he resigned as the Punjab Congress chief.


“As desired by the Congress President I have sent my resignation,” he wrote on the micro-blogging platform.



The resignation came after Congress president Sonia Gandhi asked the state unit chiefs of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur to resign following the defeat in the assembly elections.


The AAP bagged a historic win in the Punjab elections registering victories in 92 seats in the 117-member assembly.


The Congress, which won 77 seats in 2017, was reduced to 18 seats with most of its big leaders facing humiliating defeat in their respective strongholds.


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


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


The SAD won only four seats.