Bhagwant is Punjab’s ‘Mann of The Match’
When the Congress high command had made cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu chief of the Punjab party, this writer on 24 July 2021 had said, “Time Will Tell Who Will ‘Thoko Taali’In Punjab.” This has turned out to be true in just declared results of the Punjab Assembly polls. It’s Aam Admi Party (AAP)’s Chief Minister face Bhagwant Singh Mann and his mentor, Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi CM, who are the ones now doing the honour of “Thoko Taali”. Sherry, as Sidhu is popularly known since his cricket days, had come to be known by his often utterance “Thoko Taali” at his Amritsar friend Kapil Sharma’s TV comedy show which features Bollywood actors and comedians. Instead of Sidhu, it’s now Bhagwant Mann, who is also a man from the stage, is “Thoko Taali”, to Sherry’s discomfort. It’s unbelievable as the 48-year-old comedian-turned-politician “Jugnu”– the stage name of Bhagwant–has turned out to be the “Mann of the Match” in the five states assembly “election tournament”. There were not many to bet on Bhagwant Mann, two-time AAP Lok Sabha member from Sangrur, to capture the border state of Punjab by storm. The AAP tsunami was so forceful that sitting Congress CM Charanjit Singh Channi faced a humiliating defeat in both the Chamkaur Sahib and Bhadaur seats he contested from.
When Channi replaced his party CM Captain Amarinder Singh recently, everyone had praised the Congress for its “master stroke” by picking up a Dalit CM for the first time. But this has obviously not worked despite Punjab having about 33% Dalits. It is a sad commentary on the state-of-affairs in the Congress. A major factor seems to be the unnecessary continuous bickering by Sidhu, first against CM Captain Amarinder Singh and later against CM Channi. No party had won more than 90 seats in Punjab since 1962, thus, this is a historic victory for the AAP. Asked what was the secret of AAP’s fantastic win, Bhagwant Mann, with a wide smile, told The Sunday Guardian: “When you sweep with a vacuum cleaner holding a jhadu (AAP’s election symbol) in the hand, this is bound to happen … we have cleaned Punjab’s ‘political dirt’ thoroughly.”
When Kejriwal Acted As An Astrologer
During election campaign in Punjab, Arvind Kejriwal had acted as an “astrologer”. At a public rally, when a TV channel asked Kejriwal about his prediction, he smiled and said that AAP was sweeping the border state and that the ruling Congress CM Channi would lose from both the seats he was contesting from, and that Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu’s wicket would also go down in the match against AAP. The TV channel’s woman journalist asked Kejriwal whether he could give this in writing. He obliged. On the counting day, when the results proved Kejriwal to be correct, the TV channel flaunted this piece of paper as “gold in hand.” When The Sunday Guardian asked Kejriwal whether he practised astrology also, he smiled and said, “Maybe!” The AAP chief added: “I could see the writing on the wall clearly, better than others.”
Toy Bulldozer Sales Go Up In Uttar Pradesh
After the grand victory of “Baba Bulldozer”–Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath– in the Assembly polls, the sale of toy bulldozers has increased as children are pestering their parents to get them one. The parents, especially from the “saffron parivars” are pampering the kids. Some fans of Yogi are dressing up their little ones like him with a toy bulldozer in hand. A 1.5-year-old girl, Navya, dressed up as CM Yogi Adityanath and carried a toy bulldozer, as she arrived at BJP office in Lucknow along with her father. Some of the party workers were seen celebrating the victory of Adityanath either by wearing a toy bulldozer mounted on the head or standing on the machine. The BJP MP from Mathura Hema Malini said “nothing can come in front of a bulldozer.” Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party has emerged as a major opponent, followed by poor performance of the Congress and BSP. During the campaign, Yadav had stated that “Baba” would lose the election, just like the contentious farm laws were withdrawn. “Many are calling him ‘Baba Bulldozer’…but after our victory, we will change the bulldozer politics,” the SP leader said. Yadav’s dream has not come true. Bulldozer has come to stay. Adityanath has maintained that “bulldozer doesn’t talk, but it works.” Adityanath frequently used the bulldozer metaphor to show voters that he would make UP safer. The BJP workers used the emblem to fight back at the opposition. Interestingly, a “Bulldozer” has taken over the party’s symbol— lotus—in the most populous state. The BJP has broken the 36-year-old jinx in UP by moving the party to power for the second consecutive term. This was a result of Adityanath’s stern attitude against henchmen and mafias, to whom he had warned that after coming back to power he would run “bulldozer” of strong governance on them. In Adityanath’s bastion Gorakhpur, his supporters took out a massive rally of bulldozers.