For the reason that Aam Aadmi Occasion (AAP) got here to energy in Punjab in 2022, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has hardly ever appeared politically remoted. He heads a authorities of 95 MLAs and has an absolute majority in Parliament. However amid the political disaster triggered by the Akal Takht’s directive for a social boycott of Sikhs and the next summons to AAP MLAs and ministers over anti-blasphemy legal guidelines, Mann was left largely to fend for himself.
Days after the controversy over Mann’s allegedly snowballing video erupted, it was the CM who appeared at a press convention to refute the allegations and attempt to refute the criticism. The optics had been spectacular. Mann appeared nearly alone in entrance of the cameras to defend himself and his authorities’s dealing with of the controversy.
Conspicuous by their silence had been AAP nationwide convenor Arvind Kejriwal and senior chief Manish Sisodia.
AAP Nationwide Convener Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann throughout a press convention in Amritsar, Sunday, June 28, 2026, mentioned on Sunday that every one Sikh MLAs and Sikh ministers will attend the Akal Takht to be held in Amritsar on June 29 relating to the anti-sacred legal guidelines. (PTI picture)
Neither aspect intervened publicly because the dispute escalated from questions over the alleged video to competing forensic claims, the registration of an FIR by Gurugram police for allegedly fabricating a forensic report, the next arrest of two folks, criticism from opposition events, and at last Akal Takht’s unprecedented directive for a public boycott of Mr. Mann.
For a celebration that has historically rallied round senior management throughout political crises, the silence has drawn consideration each inside and out of doors AAP.
At first, Mann wasn’t utterly alone. Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema publicly defended the CM and attacked the opposition over the controversy. Nonetheless, the federal government’s technique suffered a setback after Gurugram police registered an FIR. Some leaders inside the celebration have acknowledged privately that counting on non-public forensic experiences has confirmed counterproductive.
“The forensic report has turn out to be a much bigger subject,” an AAP official acknowledged. “As a substitute of resolving the dispute, it extended it and introduced new political issues to the opposition.”
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann addressed a ‘public assembly’ held at Patiala’s Gajwas village on Friday. (@BhagwantMann X/ANI picture)
That wariness steadily was political distance. Mr Mann continued to confront his critics in public, however there was no seen mobilization by the celebration’s nationwide management. There was additionally no organized marketing campaign by ministers to defend the federal government’s place, a typical function of the AAP throughout political crises.
“On the day Akal Takht issued the directive, Mann launched a video message accusing the Akal Takht Jathedar of appearing on the orders of political leaders. Like MLAs and ministers, Cheema addressed the media when the forensic report was submitted. Nonetheless, after the forensic report controversy backfired, Mann was left largely on his personal to deal with the matter. He mentioned this in one other press convention. Kejriwal reposted Mann’s press convention claiming that the particular person within the video was a special particular person carrying a masks just like him and the reality has come out,” the AAP chief mentioned.
Opposition events condemn Mann
Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Walling accused Mann of bringing disrepute to the CM’s workplace and demanded his resignation on the instructions of Akal Takht. “The Prime Minister ought to resign instantly. All of this goes in opposition to the CM’s mandate,” Walling mentioned.
Senior Congress chief Charanjit Singh Chani questioned why the federal government relied on a personal forensic report if it was assured of its place.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) accused the federal government of making an attempt to mislead the general public by way of fabricated proof and mentioned the event validated the considerations raised by Sikh non secular teams.
Considerations inside the AAP
However inside the AAP, the instant considerations are political slightly than rhetorical. Some Sikh MLAs have privately acknowledged that the Akal Takht’s directives have put them in an uncomfortable place of their constituencies. “The summons issued to all AAP MLAs and ministers over the anti-blasphemy legislation is a giant drawback. Mr Mann himself has not been summoned. Out of 117 MPs, he’s the one one who has not been known as to look for the Akal Takht on June 29,” mentioned an AAP MLA.
This dilemma explains why Mann known as all MLAs and ministers to Amritsar on Sunday, a day earlier than their scheduled attendance. Occasion sources mentioned the assembly will finalize the management’s response and resolve whether or not MPs ought to collect in Akal Takht and seem in courtroom.
Mann himself will not be anticipated to participate in Monday’s lawsuit, because the Akal Takht has directed Sikhs to socially boycott him. Nonetheless, MLAs and ministers have been requested to look.
This distinction has essential political implications.
The MP’s look might be seen as an try and defuse tensions between the ruling celebration and the Sikh secular institution. In the event that they distance themselves, they danger being seen as supporting a battle that some within the celebration consider might be politically pricey.
In any case, Mann stays on the middle of the disaster. Sarcastically, it was Mann who has projected himself because the undisputed political face of AAP in Punjab. From main election campaigns to saying main plans, he has turn out to be synonymous with celebration authorities. Just some days in the past, Kejriwal had declared him the AAP’s chief ministerial face for the 2027 meeting elections.
Mr. Kejriwal is in Punjab for the celebration’s three-day Shiv Sandhya propaganda program and also will attend a parliamentary assembly in Amritsar on Sunday. It stays to be seen whether or not his presence will result in a transparent public expression of political solidarity with Mann.
For AAP, the problem has now gone past managing the controversy over the alleged video or responding to the FIR over the forensic report. It’s to reassure celebration MPs that the celebration has a coherent political technique to navigate the unprecedented battle involving the very best Sikh authority in Punjab.
