'A New Anti-Mafia Era': Navjot Sidhu Critise Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann

AAP’s elected chief minister Bhagwant Mann took oath in a grand ceremony on Wednesday after a landslide victory in Punjab.

The Congress suffered a crushing defeat in the Punjab election this year, forcing Sonia Gandhi to demand that Navjot Sidhu, the party’s state unit president, resign.

The presidents of the four other states that voted last month — all of which saw the Congress lose badly – were also requested to retire. A day after complying — and handing over a one-line letter – the controversial former cricketer sent out a tweet congratulating Aam Aadmi Party leader Bhagwant Mann on his appointment as the state’s new chief minister.

Sidhu hailed Mann for ‘a new anti-mafia era in Punjab’ and tweeted: “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.”

The AAP dominated the Congress, winning 92 of 117 seats and defeating Sidhu in Amritsar (East).

In two seats, AAP candidates defeated former Chief Minister Charanjit Channi.

Mann was sworn in at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral hamlet of famed freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, in a magnificent ceremony on Wednesday. The Congress’ Dalvir Singh Goldy, who was the Lok Sabha MP from Dhuri in Sangrur district, was defeated by the 48-year-old.

Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi chief minister and an AAP leader, thanked Mann and expressed confidence that prosperity will return to Punjab under his leadership.