AAP going to change Chief Minister in Punjab? Know what Bhagwant Mann said

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann today laughed off questions on whether he could be removed from the top post after the AAP's defeat in Delhi and party leader Arvind Kejriwal's loss in his own seat. Mr Mann spoke to the media after the AAP meeting in Delhi, which was attended by Mr Kejriwal, senior leader Manish Sisodia and all Punjab MLAs besides other key party functionaries.

The meeting of Punjab MLAs at Kapurthala House in the national capital had attracted attention, with a senior BJP leader claiming that Mr Kejriwal was trying to remove Mr Mann from the post of Chief Minister.

He said, "After losing the Delhi elections, Arvind Kejriwal has called a meeting of Punjab MLAs in Delhi. Reports suggest that he is trying to remove Bhagwant Mann ji from the CM post by calling him incompetent. He failed to fulfil his promise of giving Rs 1,000 to women, failed to curb drug abuse and worsened the situation in Punjab.

Manjinder Singh Sirsa, the newly elected MLA from Rajouri Garden, claimed in a video that the AAP national convenor is trying to remove Mr Mann by calling him "incompetent".

Now he wants to put the entire failure on Bhagwant Mann. He is getting AAP Punjab MLAs to say that Kejriwal is a 'good man' and should be made the chief minister." When Mr Mann was asked about the claim, he smiled and said, "Let him say it." He also assured that the Punjab government will fulfil its promise of giving Rs 1,000 every month to women.

"Partap Bajwa has been saying this for nearly three years. Ask him to count the number of (Congress) MLAs in Delhi for the third time," he said. He mocked the Congress' hat-trick of winning zero seats in the Delhi elections. He was also asked about Mr Bajwa's claim that he might quit the AAP. "Let him speak. We have built this party with our blood and sweat.

Someone asked him if he is celebrating the Congress' zero score," he said. The AAP has 93 MLAs and the Congress 16 in the 117-member Punjab Assembly. Mr Mann also spoke about the discussions held in today's meeting.

He said Mr Kejriwal thanked AAP workers for working at the grassroots level in the party's Delhi campaign. He said the AAP did a lot of work in Delhi but winning and losing is part of politics.