Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann to meet PM Modi on March 24; 1st meeting post election results

In their first interaction after taking over as the Punjab CM, Bhagwant Mann will meet PM Modi in the national capital at around 11 a.m. on Thursday, March 24. This is likely to be followed by a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Earlier in the day, Mann took to Koo to reveal that he had sought time to meet the PM and Shah as a "courtesy call" and discuss issues related to Punjab.

While he resigned as Lok Sabha MP on March 14, he took as the 17th Chief Minister of Punjab two days later in the presence of AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and other leaders. Congratulating Mann after he was sworn in as the CM, PM Modi assured him cooperation in working towards the growth of Punjab and people's welfare. While AAP secured a whopping 92 seats in the 117-member Assembly, BJP only won 2 seats.

Bhagwant Mann's eventful decade in politics

Born on October 17, 1973, the Punjab CM was educated at the S.U.S Government College in Sunam. A professional comedian, he has participated in various drama and music programmes besides giving live performances in a number of countries. A year after joining the People's Party of Punjab, he unsuccessfully contested the 2012 Punjab Assembly election.

Post switching allegiance to AAP in 2014, he was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time by defeating Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa by a margin of 2,11,721 votes from the Sangrur constituency. 

However, he lost to SAD supremo Sukhbir Singh Badal in the Jalalabad seat in the 2017 state Assembly election. But the 49-year-old politician retained the Sangrur seat in the 2019 General Election. As a parliamentarian, he was a member of the Standing Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution as well as the Consultative Committee of the Ministry of External Affairs.

Moreover, Mann has been serving as the president of AAP's Punjab unit since May 2017 and is a member of the party's national executive. In the 2022 Assembly polls, he won the Dhuri seat by beating sitting Congress MLA Dalvir Singh Goldy.