Bhagwant Mann meets Punjab Guv, stakes claim to form govt

Punjab chief minister-designate Bhagwant Mann on Saturday staked claim to form government in the state after meeting Governor Banwarilal Purohit in Chandigarh.

After the meeting, Mann told reporters outside the Raj Bhawan that he handed over a letter of support of his party MLAs to the governor who accepted it.

"We staked claim to form the government and the governor sahib approved it," said Mann.

The 48-year-old Mann was elected the Aam Aadmi Party Legislature Party leader at a meeting of the party MLAs in Mohali on Friday.

Mann said the swearing-in ceremony will be held at 12.30 pm on March 16 at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, in Nawanshahr district.

"We invite the people of Punjab (for the ceremony). Every Punjabi will take oath on that day...we will vow to sacrifice everything for the progress of Punjab, he said.

"We will pay tributes to Bhagat Singh."

Replying to a question on the cabinet formation, Mann said, "The cabinet will be good. Historic decisions will be taken."

Mann has also invited AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for the swearing-in ceremony.

On Sunday, the two leaders will pay obeisance at the Golden Temple, Durgiana Mandir and Sri Ram Tirath Mandir.

They will take part in a road show in Amritsar to celebrate the AAP's stupendous victory in the polls and thank voters.

The AAP romped home by winning 92 seats in the 117-member Punjab Assembly.

It decimated the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bahujan Samaj Party combine and its candidates defeated several stalwarts, including the outgoing chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, SAD patriarch Parkash Singh Badal and former chief minister Amarinder Singh.