Bhagwant Mann inducts 10 into Cabinet, says will fill 25,000 govt posts

Declaring that he had kept the first of his poll promises, Mann, in a video message after the first meeting of the Cabinet, said the process of advertisement and notification for these jobs would be initiated within a month.

Earlier in the day, 10 MLAs were administered the oath of office as ministers – the Cabinet has room for seven more. Giant killers were left out as were some confident second-term MLAs in Round 1.

It’s a relatively young Cabinet with only one member aged 60. While two ministers are in their early 30s, five are in their 40s, and two in mid-50s. The CM himself is 48 years old.

Governor Banwarilal Purohit administered the oath of secrecy to the ministers, five of whom represent the Malwa region where the AAP swept 66 of 69 seats. Four ministers are from Majha and one from Doaba. There is only one woman among the ministers. The Cabinet has four Jat Sikhs, four SCs and two Hindus.

(From left) Dr Baljit Kaur, Harbhajan Singh and Dr Vijay Singla take the oath on Saturday.

The new ministers are:

– Former Leader of Opposition Harpal Singh Cheema (48), second-time AAP MLA from Dirba. He is a law graduate and is a key leader of the party.

– Dr Baljit Kaur, 46, an eye surgeon from Malout. She is the daughter of Professor Sadhu Singh, former AAP MP from Faridkot.

– Harbhajan Singh, a former Excise and Taxation Officer who was elected from Jandiala for the first time. He defeated Congress working president Sukhwinder Singh Danny.

– Dr Vijay Singla (46), a dentist from Mansa, who defeated popular Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala.

– Lal Chand Kataru Chak from Bhoa (47), a first-time MLA.

– Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, a 32-year-old with a BTech degree. He is representing Barnala for the second time – this election, he defeated Manish Bansal, son of former Union Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal.

– Kuldip Singh Dhaliwal from Ajnala who lived in the US before he returned to agriculture in Punjab.

– Laljit Singh Bhullar, 41, a commission agent who defeated SAD candidate Adesh Partap Singh Kairon, former minister and son-in-law of former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

– Pandit Brahm Shankar Jimpa, 56, who has been a four-time councillor from Hoshiarpur.

– Harjot Singh Bains, youngest MLA from Anandpur Sahib and a practising lawyer at the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Among the second-term MLAs considered frontrunners for Cabinet berths but left out were Aman Arora, Sarvjit Kaur Manuke, Baljinder Kaur and Principal Budh Ram. The surprising omission was Kunwar Vijay Partap, who resigned from the IPS to join AAP and who had been introduced during the campaign as a future Home Minister.

Present for the oath-taking ceremony, Aman Arora, who won from Sunam a second time, said: “May be my performance was not up to the mark, I will try to perform better. I am not in any race for any post. I am just a small worker in my party.”

However, Manuke did not hide her disappointment. The MLA from Jagron, also present at the ceremony, said she did not know why she was overlooked. “I am not aware of the party criteria. But I will only say that whatever the party decides, one should accept it happily.”

Principal Budh Ram, elected for the second time from Budhlada, said he “never lobbied for any post”.

“It is the party’s decision. We cannot say that seniority has been ignored. For instance, Cabinet minister Dr Baljit Kaur is daughter of former Faridkot MP Prof Sadhu Singh. They have also contributed to the party,” he said.