:dateline:The Aam Admi Party�s national convener and Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, on May 8 appointed comedian turned politician Bhagwant Mann as state convener of AAP in Punjab. He has replaced another comedian-turned politician Gurpreet Ghuggi who was appointed as state convener of Punjab amid crisis in party cadre following the sacking of Sucha Singh Chhotepur.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the party�s top leaders with Punjab MLAs and other leaders chaired by Arvind Kejriwal.
Arvind Kejriwal has claimed that he has appointed Mann as state convener after meeting each Punjab MLA individually. He said that majority of them recommended name of Bhagwant Mann for this post. �Internal sources revealed that Bhagwant Mann’s drinking problem had kept party’s senior leadership from granting him the role, however, Mann has been asked to go through rehabilitation.
Bhagwant Mann was backbone of the AAP�s campaign during the concluded assembly polls in Punjab. Despite of being considered a confidante of Kejriwal, Mann was critical of the party�s strategy during the polls, but never went against party convener.
Meanwhile, AAP�s Bholath legislator and party�s chief whip in assembly Sukhpal Khaira has resigned from his post citing that he won�t be able to handle multiple duties. Notably, Sukhpal Khaira was also in the race for the post of state convener in Punjab.
Reacting to the appointment of Bhagwant Mann as state convener, Gurpreet Ghuggi said that at least the party could have told him to resign over telephone. �Why this lengthy exercise?� he questioned. �It looks very awkward. They removed me after succumbing to the pressure from Mann. I held party reins during the crisis, sacrificing my work. When they made me convener, I had to keep aside my movie projects that cost me a lot financially,� he added.
AAP�s core leadership has also appointed Sunam legislator Aman Arora co-President in the state and Jagraon legislator Sarabjit Kaur Manuke as head of legislator party in the state. It is being speculated that the AAP has tried to balance communal equation in Punjab by appointing these two legislators who hail from Hindu and schedule caste backgrounds respectively.
Sources have also informed that the AAP has made these appointments succumbing to the fact the Hindu community in Punjab kept distance from the party as the media had maligned the party�s image by linking it with pro-freedom Sikh leaders. �
