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​Decades after he began a career as a comic, Bhagwant Mann is having the last laugh in Punjab's electoral politics.

After securing a thumping majority in the Assembly elections last week, the Aam Aadmi Party has formed the government in Punjab. Bhagwant Mann has been sworn in as the 18th Chief Minister of Punjab today (Wednesday). While Mann’s oath-taking ceremony was held at the native village of legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, Khatkar Kalan, his cabinet will be sworn-in later.

It is a momentous occasion for Punjab that has chosen to elect AAP by a landslide vote, virtually routing out the competition — Congress, Akali Dal and BJP. As a reflection of his promised commitment to the welfare of the state, 48-year-old Mann urged the party leaders to spend maximum time in their constituencies after the results were declared, instead of hankering for cabinet berths in the state capital. "We have to work for all those places where we went to seek votes. All MLAs must work in the areas from where they have been elected, not just stay in Chandigarh," Mann had told party leaders.

Mann’s cabinet and Punjab’s Legislative Assembly will comprise rather young leaders this time. This time, over half of the candidates who won the polls, are aged between 25 and 50 years, including Mann who is 48-years-old. As per the candidates’ affidavits, 61 newly-elected legislators are in the age bracket, making it 52 per cent of the 117-member Assembly. The youngest member of the Assembly is 27-year-old Narinder Kaur Bharaj from AAP. She won the seat by a margin of 36,430 votes, defeating the former Cabinet Minister and Congress’s political heavyweight Vijay Inder Singla. Including Bharaj, there are 13 women legislators of which 11 are from AAP. Eight of these 11 are in the age group of 50 years and below.

The cabinet is also expected to comprise well-educated members. 67 MLAs (57 per cent of the Assembly) have degrees of graduation and above, of which there are 21 graduates and 21 post-graduates, according to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Punjab Election Watch. Of 13 women MLAs, 11 have completed either their graduation, post-graduation or professional degrees. These include AAP’s Jeevan Jyot Kaur, a 50-year-old lawyer who won the high-profile Amritsar East seat, emerging as AAP’s giant killer. Known as ‘padwoman’ for promoting reusable sanitary pads, Jeevan Jyot Kaur contested (and won) her first-ever electoral battle against political titans — Congress’s Navjot Singh Sidhu and SAD’s Bikram Singh Majithia — two candidates who had never tasted defeat before.
As Mann takes oath in Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s native village amidst a sea of Basanti (yellow) — he had earlier urged men to wear basanti turbans and women to wear basanti dupatta, while donning a yellow turban himself — Mann has promised a revolution in Punjab’s administration. After all, Basanti is the colour commonly associated with Bhagat Singh and who is better a revolutionary than him to emulate.
The challenges are tall and new for him and his party that has won a full state for the first time — Delhi being a union territory. One factor that Mann has which his rivals lacked is the unwavering support of the people of Punjab.
As he said in his maiden speech as the Chief Minister: "Hukumat vo karte hain jinka dilon par raj hota hai, yun to kehne ko murge ke sar pe bhi taaj hota hai (The ones who rule are those who rule hearts, crowns even rest on roosters' heads)."
Decades after he began a career as a comic, Bhagwant Mann is having the last laugh in Punjab's electoral politics.