Punjab: 10 Ministers, Including 8 First-Time MLAs, Sworn-In For CM Bhagwant Mann-Led Cabinet

Bhagwant Mann Cabinet: The swearing-in ceremony of the ministers in Punjab cabinet was held at Punjab Raj Bhawan.

Ten AAP leaders including Harpal Singh Cheema and Dr Baljit Kaur take oath as ministers in the Punjab cabinet. (ANI Photos)

New Delhi: Ten Ministers were sworn-in to the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann-led cabinet in Punjab on Saturday. Among the Ministers, eight are first-time MLAs and there is one woman minister.

Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also decided to nominate Kultar Singh Sandhwan as Speaker of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, news agency PTI reported.

The swearing-in ceremony of the Mann's cabinet was held at Punjab Raj Bhawan.

In a tweet on Friday evening, Bhagwant Mann put out a picture giving names of the 10 party MLAs who will be sworn-in as Ministers and congratulated them.

Of the ten, five MLAs represent the Malwa region, four Majha and one legislator is from Doaba. Notably, four MLAs being sworn-in as Ministers represent reserve constituencies such as Dirba, Jandiala, Malout, and Bhoa.

The 10 Punjab Ministers sworn-in include: 

• Harpal Singh Cheema: A second-time legislator from Dirba and the party's Dalit face. He was also the Leader of the Opposition in the previous Assembly. An advocate by profession, he had defeated Shiromani Akali Dal's Gulzar Singh Moonak by a margin of 50,655 votes.
  
  He was first elected as an MLA in 2017 and also served as a member of the Assembly Committee on the welfare of SCs, STs, and BCs.
  
  
• Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer: Two-time Barnala MLA is the president of the AAP's youth wing. He defeated SAD nominee Kulwant Singh Keetu by a margin of 37,622 votes.
  
  
• Dr Baljit Kaur: The Malout legislator is a lone woman in the Bhagwant Mann cabinet. An eye surgeon by profession, she is the daughter of Sadhu Singh, who remained an AAP MP from Faridkot from 2014 to 2019.

  Baljit defeated SAD nominee Harpreet Singh by 40,261 votes from Malout in the Muktsar district.

• Harjot Bains: Harjot Bains has been elected from the Anandpur Sahib constituency. He defeated former speaker and Congress candidate Rana KP Singh. A lawyer by profession, je had unsuccessfully contested from Sahnewal in 2017. Harjot is a former president of the party's youth wing.
  
  
• Dr Vijay Singla: The Mansa MLA is a dentist. He had defeated popular Punjabi singer and Congress candidate Shubhdeep Singh, also known as Sidhu Moosewala, by a huge margin of 63,323 votes.
  
  
• Harbhajan Singh: He won from Jandiala after defeating Punjab Congress working president Sukhwinder Singh Danny. Harbhajan had unsuccessfully contested from the seat in 2017
• Lal Chand Kataruchakk: He was president of the AAP's SC wing. Lal Chand won from Bhoa seat in Pathankot by trouncing Congress candidate Joginder Pal.
  
  
• Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal: The Ajnala MLA had defeated SAD candidate Amarpal Singh. He had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Amritsar.
  
  
• Laljit Singh Bhullar: He won from the Patti seat, defeating political stalwart Adesh Partap Singh Kairon, who is the son-in-law of former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal. Laljit Bhullar joined AAP in 2019.
  
  
• Brahm Shanker: The MLA elected from the Hoshiarpur seat, defeated former minister and Congress nominee Sunder Sham Arora.

Ahead of the swearing-in ceremony, Dr. Baljit Kaur thanked the people of Punjab and the AAP high command, "It is AAP's good mindset that they've included a woman in cabinet. I'll carry out all my duties honestly. As a woman and doctor, I'll work for the development of women and health sector."

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

After their oath-taking, the newly inducted Ministers will assume charge in the Punjab Civil Secretariat.

According to PTI sources, the first cabinet meeting of the AAP government will be held in the afternoon, sources said.

Earlier, the names of Aman Arora, Baljinder Kaur, and Sarvjit Kaur Manuke, who are two-time AAP MLAs, were also doing the rounds for ministerial berths.

(With Agency Inputs)