Bhagwant Mann to take oath alone on Wednesday

Chandigarh, March 13 (IANS) Punjab Chief Minister-designate and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Bhagwant Mann will take oath alone on Wednesday, party sources said on Sunday.

The oath ceremony of his cabinet, which may comprise 17 members, will be held later, a source told IANS.

Arvind Kejriwal's AAP has won 92 seats in Punjab -- up from 20 in 2017 with its vote share rising to 42.4 per cent.

A day earlier, Mann met Governor Banwarilal Purohit at the Raj Bhawan here and staked claim to form the government.

He is set to take oath as the 17th Chief Minister of Punjab at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district, on March 16 at 12.30 p.m.

Addressing the media outside the Raj Bhavan, Mann said: "We also informed the Governor about the place and time of the swearing-in ceremony. I have invited all the people of Punjab to come to Khatkar Kalan for this historic occasion. On March 16, not only us and our ministers, all the people of Punjab will take an oath to make Punjab prosperous again. We all together make Punjab prosperous."

In his directive to newly elected party legislators, Mann asked them to spend maximum time in their constituencies, not in capital Chandigarh, and not to hanker for Cabinet berths.

"We have to work for all those places where we went to seek votes. All MLAs must work in the areas from where they have been elected, not just stay in Chandigarh," Mann was quoted as saying after he was elected the leader of the AAP Legislative Party -- a formality ahead of his swearing-in.