Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday inducted two new ministers in his Cabinet. Gurmeet Singh Khuddian and Balkar Singh were administered the oath of their office and secrecy by Governor Banwarilal Purohit at a ceremony in Raj Bhavan today morning. Khudian has been handed the Agriculture ministry, besides the Animal Husbandry, Fisheries, Dairy Development and Food Processing portfolios. Balkar, on the other hand, will handle the Local Government and Parliamentary Affairs ministries.
Mann’s cabinet now has a strength of 16 against a sanctioned strength of 18. Local Government Minister Inderbir Singh Nijjer resigned on Tuesday, the eve of the cabinet expansion, citing “personal reasons”. Nijjer also handled the Parliamentary Affairs portfolio.
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Who is Gurmeet Singh Khuddian?
The Aam Aadmi Party MLA from Lambi, Khuddian is popularly referred to as the “giant-killer” after he defeated Sahiromani Akali Dal stalwart and fice-time Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal by 11,396 votes in the Assembly elections held in 2022. Lambi wa slong seen as the bastion of Parkash Singh Badal, the 11-time MLA who passed away in April this year.
A Congress, turncoat, Khuddian switched to the AAP ahead of the elections in Punjab and was seen as a close aide of former CM Captain Amarinder Singh. Khuddian’s induction makes him the first among the AAP’s six “giant killers” to be accommodated in the Cabinet.
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Who is Balkar Singh?
The AAP MLA from Kartarpur, Balkar is a former Punjab Police Service (PPS) officer, who retired as DCP, Jalandhar, Balkar before joining the AAP in June 2021. Balkar is seen as the key person behind the party’s win in the Jalandhar Lok Sabha byelections. It was from his constituency that AAP canidate Sushil Kumar Rinku got the biggest lead among nine Assembly seats in Jalandhar.
The AAP candidate won the election by 58,691 votes, of which he got a lead of 10,682 votes from the Kartarpur segment. In the poll run-up, Balkar had a face-off with SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia, after the latter levelled several allegations against him.