Bhagwant Mann’s friend in AAP’s Punjab LS list, ‘outsider’ party learns insider ways

An hour to go for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) announcing names of its Punjab candidates for the coming Lok Sabha elections, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann told noted Punjabi actor, comedian and singer Karamjit Anmol that the party wanted him to contest from the Faridkot reserved seat.

Anmol, a close friend of Mann who hails from Gandua village of Sangrur district, admits his first choice was Sangrur. “But the CM told me that an artist should be ready to represent the whole of Punjab. So I agreed to contest from Faridkot,” Anmol told mediapersons.

Facing his first electoral contest, Anmol has hit the ground running, holding meetings with AAP workers and all its MLAs representing Assembly segments under the Faridkot Lok Sabha seat on Saturday, and touring the constituency Sunday, including the Tilla Baba Farid shrine. Kotkapura MLA and Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, whose constituency also falls under Faridkot, said, “We are happy the party has chosen Anmol.”

However, not many are as pleased, at the AAP’s choices, with the party that came to power representing itself the “outsider” making choices quite like its counterparts in its Lok Sabha list. The choice of Anmol is among the most striking, with Mann’s friend making his political debut straight with a Lok Sabha ticket.

The nephew of legendary folk singer Kuldeep Manak, Anmol (52) began life as an entertainer, doing comedy with Mann, before moving on to acting. He has acted in popular Punjabi-language hits like Carry on Jatta 2, Ardaas and Sardar Sahib, and also appeared in the Bollywood film Dev D.

Hours before the announcement of his ticket, Anmol had been promoting his new song Mirza on his social media handles. On Friday, he updated these posts by thanking the AAP