Chandigarh: The Aam Aadmi Party has inducted Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema into its key Political Affairs Committee (PAC) ahead of the state Assembly elections.
Cheema’s inclusion in the seven-member panel is being seen as a signal of his importance in the party’s Punjab leadership, while also giving representation to the Dalit community in the party’s top decision-making body.
Former Delhi minister and AAP’s co-in-charge for Punjab affairs Satyendar Jain has also been appointed as a PAC member. Mann, who was earlier a special invitee to the committee as Punjab chief minister, has now been made a permanent member.
Mann remains the party’s prominent face in Punjab, with a major role expected for him in the upcoming election campaign and strategy.
Two Mann aides join national executive
AAP has also inducted Rajbir Ghumman, Mann’s Officer on Special Duty (OSD), and Vaibhav Kumar into the party’s 23-member national executive.
Ghumman’s name had recently figured in an Enforcement Directorate investigation linked to alleged “cash for transfer” and land fraud. The allegations are under investigation and have not been established.
The changes are expected to give Punjab’s leadership a more direct role in organisational strategy, candidate selection and election campaign planning.
The move comes as AAP prepares to defend its 2022 Punjab Assembly victory, when the party won 92 of the state’s 117 seats. With the party now out of power in Delhi, Punjab remains its most significant large-state government and an important electoral test.
AAP is facing challenges including criticism over governance, unemployment and drug-related issues, financial constraints, employee discontent and renewed competition from the Congress, BJP, Shiromani Akali Dal and other Akali factions.
Changes in national executive
While Mann and Cheema have gained greater prominence within the party’s organisational structure, AAP Punjab president Aman Arora, Jagraon MLA Sarvjit Kaur Manuke and Talwandi Sabo MLA Baljinder Kaur are no longer part of the national executive.
The inclusion of Jain in the PAC is also aimed at strengthening coordination between AAP’s Punjab organisation and its central leadership ahead of the elections.
