New Delhi:
Bhagwant Mann, the lone AAP member in the new Lok Sabha, Friday said the “Modi wave” could not shake him off because he had earned the people’s trust and asserted that the electorate has given “one last chance” to the Congress in Punjab ahead of 2022 Assembly polls.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had a dismal showing in Punjab, with its tally reducing from four seats in 2014 to just one in 2019.
It found its saviour in Mann, the comedian-turned-politician who won from Sangrur by 1.10 lakh votes defeating Congress’s Kewal Singh Dhillon.
Asked about the road ahead for the party in Punjab, he said, “I will continue to fight and my party will come to power in the next assembly election. The people of the state have given one last chance to the Congress.”
He said the number of seats won does not exactly reflect the mood of the people.
“We did not get anything in Delhi in 2014, but came to power with a thumping majority in 2015. We might have drawn a blank this time, but we will from government in 2020 (in the national capital),” he said.
He said by re-electing him, the people have made it clear that only those who work for them would be voted to power.
“The Modi wave could not shake me off because I dedicated myself to the people of my constituency and earned their trust. The Akali Dal, the Congress and (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi…everyone wanted to defeat me. I stood my ground…,” he said.
“I was born at a place called Sunam in Sangrur. Those born there are called ‘sunami’. So, If Modi is a wave, I am a (t)sunami,” he added.
The AAP’s Punjab unit chief said he had been a “serious” politician in Parliament and if his image is of a comedian, he won’t change it.
“I have always raised serious issues in Lok Sabha… People have voted for me after listening to my speeches, why should I change? I am a social critic not a comedian,” he said.
“The best comedian has become the prime minister for a second time. He made people laugh when he said Guru Nanak Dev and Baba Gorakhnath sat together and discussed spirituality. One was born 150 years after the other,” Mann said.
“(SAD leader) Sukhbir Badal is another comedian. He talks about running buses on water and taking out a rally on Mars. I want to give my ‘king of comedy’ award to him,” he said.
