DECODE PUNJAB: Cabinet reshuffle soon, but Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann to set date: Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal

Ruchika M Khanna and Rajmeet Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 23

A Cabinet reshuffle in Punjab is on the cards, anytime. But when it will happen, is the prerogative of Chief Minister and state AAP president Bhagwant Mann, said party MP from Hoshiarpur, Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal.

“No one, other than the CM, knows the timing of the reshuffle. It is generally announced just before swearing-in. It will happen whenever the CM deems fit. But he will choose the best people to join his Council of Ministers,” he told during The Tribune’s digital show #DecodePunjab.

AAP cadre more disciplined, loyal

Had I been Congress candidate for the Lok Sabha poll, party leaders would have pulled me down, instead of campaigning for me. In sharp contrast, AAP MLAs, whose constituencies form a part of the Hoshiarpur Lok Sabha seat, campaigned vigorously for me. The AAP cadre is small, but more disciplined and loyal to the party. — Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal, AAP MP

Alleging that the Election Commission of India was playing to the BJP gallery, he said the bypoll for the four Assembly constituencies in Punjab – Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal, Barnala and Gidderbaha – could have been held simultaneously with the Haryana Vidhan Sabha elections, “but the ECI is fully involved in politics. They may schedule it in November or December, or try and club Punjab byelections by calling early elections for the Delhi Vidhan Sabha, but it does not matter. The AAP will contest and win all four seats,” he asserted.

Asked if he was staking a claim to the AAP ticket from the Chabbewal constituency for his brother, the MP said during the Lok Sabha poll, his lead from Chabbewal was over 26,600 votes. “Selecting the candidate is the prerogative of the party high command. If their survey shows us in a strong position, we are ready to contest,” he said.

Hitting at the BJP for the polarisation of votes along caste lines, especially in rural areas, he scoffed that it did not help the BJP at the hustings this time as it lost the Hoshiarpur seat —considered a BJP stronghold.

Asked about the difference in the AAP and the Congress, since he had jumped ship from the Congress to the AAP, Chabbewal said he remained in the Congress for 10 years and faced the consequences of factionalism in the party, which ultimately also led to the party’s defeat in the 2022 Vidhan Sabha poll. “Had I been the Congress candidate for the Lok Sabha poll, the party leaders would have pulled me down, instead of campaigning for me. In sharp contrast, all AAP MLAs, whose constituencies form a part of the Hoshiarpur Lok Sabha seat, campaigned vigorously for me. The AAP cadre is small, but more disciplined and loyal to the party,” he claimed.

The Hoshiarpur MP said ever since he joined the AAP, development works worth Rs 40 crore had been sanctioned for Chabbewal alone. “I will now be using my MPLAD funds for the development of Hoshiarpur. A new canal for the Doaba region is also being planned by our government. We have already seen how water flowing into the Kandi canal, after years, has transformed agriculture in that belt,” he stated.

Staked claim to post of Dy Speaker in LS

Chabbewal, a radiologist-turned-politician, is a first-time MP. He was elected MLA in 2017 and 2022. He had staked a claim to the post of Deputy Speaker in the Lok Sabha during his very first meeting with the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Om Birla. “I had said the post of Deputy Speaker should be with the Opposition and staked my claim. But the Speaker got very upset. During my maiden Lok Sabha session, I also raised the issue of a rail link between Hoshiarpur and Tanda,” he said.