Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday extended birthday greetings to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, wishing him a long and healthy life.
In a post on social media platform X, PM Modi said, “Birthday greetings to Punjab Chief Minister Shri Bhagwant Mann Ji. Praying for his long and healthy life.”
Born on October 17, 1973, in Satoj village of Punjab’s Sangrur district, Mann comes from a family of schoolteachers. He studied commerce at Shaheed Udham Singh Government College and began his career in entertainment at the age of 18 with the release of an audio cassette that gained popularity among audiences.
Mann subsequently established himself as a comedian and actor through television shows such as Jugnu Kehnda Hai and Jugnu Mast Mast. Known for his social and political satire, he gained wider recognition after participating in The Great Indian Laughter Challenge on Star Plus in 2008. He also appeared in the National Award-winning Punjabi film Main Maa Punjab Dee.
Mann entered politics by joining the People’s Party of Punjab, founded by Manpreet Singh Badal, nephew of former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.
He contested his first Assembly election in 2012 from the Lehra constituency in Sangrur against former Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal but was unsuccessful.
Mann later joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) at the invitation of its national convener, Arvind Kejriwal. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, he won the Sangrur parliamentary seat, defeating senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa.
By 2017, Mann had emerged as one of AAP’s prominent leaders in Punjab. However, he resigned as the party’s state president in 2018 after Kejriwal apologised to Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia in a defamation case. Mann, who had frequently criticised Majithia, was reappointed to the post the following year.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Mann retained the Sangrur seat and became AAP’s sole Member of Parliament from Punjab.
He subsequently led AAP to a decisive victory in the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections and was sworn in as Chief Minister on March 16, 2022.
Mann contested the Assembly election from Dhuri constituency, securing victory by a margin of more than 58,000 votes.
(IANS Inputs)
