MANN ON A MISSION

After being named the AAP's chief ministerial face in Punjab, Bhagwant Mann is at a crucial juncture in his political journey, and on the cusp of the big league

- SONI MISHRA

The setting was the customary tea hosted by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla at the end of a Parliament session. In attendance were senior leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Birla invited Bhagwant Singh Mann, the lone MP of the Aam Aadmi Party in the lower house, to recite a poem.

The comedian-turned-politician, used to such random requests, recited an old composition of his. It was about elections in a jungle, where predators like the lions and the eagles turned generous souls and appeared with folded hands before goats and mice. The generosity of predators lasted only till the end of the elections. The political satire was not lost on anyone. It made some of the leaders look around uncomfortably, while others burst into laughter.

On another occasion, after an all-party meeting, Modi asked Mann for a cure for sore throat. Modi had ended up with a hoarse voice after a barnstorming and wondered if Mann—who as an entertainer required to keep his throat in fine fettle—knew of an effective home remedy. Mann suggested hot milk mixed with honey. He also asked the prime minister to avoid attacking his political opponents for some time, as it put a strain on the vocal cords. A bit taken aback, Modi could only say that Mann would always be a comic first.

This is Mann for you—funny, irreverent and someone who seamlessly blends his political satirist antecedents with his current vocation as a full-time politician. And now, after he has been named the AAP's chief ministerial face in the assembly elections in Punjab, Mann finds himself at a crucial juncture in his political journey, on the cusp of the big league.