Chandigarh, Jul 19 (PTI) AAP leader and former Punjab minister Anmol Gagan Maan on Saturday said she has resigned as a member of the state Assembly and decided to quit politics.
The 35-year-old singer-turned-politician, who won her maiden election from Kharar Assembly constituency in 2022, sent her resignation to the Punjab Assembly Speaker, Kultar Singh Sandhwan.
“My heart is heavy, but I have decided to leave politics. My resignation from the post of MLA to the Speaker should be accepted.
My best wishes are with the party. I hope the Punjab government will live up to the expectations of the people,” said Maan in a post on X in Punjabi.
She did not give the reason for the decision. There was no immediate reaction from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Party sources said Maan resigned a few days ago and the party had tried to persuade her to reconsider her decision.
Earlier this week, Maan had met AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and had said in a post on X, “Had an in-depth discussion with our National Convenor Shri @ArvindKejriwal Ji on various key issues. His dream of uplifting society always fills us with courage and inspiration.” Maan became the minister during the Bhagwant Mann government’s first cabinet expansion in July 2022. She was among five MLAs who were given Cabinet berths.
At that time, she was the second woman to become a cabinet minister in the Mann government. She was given important portfolios — tourism and culture affairs, investment promotion, labour and removal of grievances.
However, the Bhagwant Mann government dropped four ministers, including Maan, from the Cabinet in September 2024.
Maan had defeated Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLA Ranjit Sing Gill from Kharar seat by a margin of 37,885 votes in the 2022 assembly polls.
Gill, who unsuccessfully contested the assembly polls from the Kharar seat twice and was once considered close to SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, had also quit the SAD on Friday.
Gill, a real estate developer, has not revealed his next move.
Maan, who hailed from Mansa district, began her political career after joining the Aam Aadmi Party in July 2020.
She had studied till Class 12 (according to her 2022 poll affidavit). Before taking a plunge into politics, Maan had made her name in the Punjabi music industry. She sang many songs like ‘Suit’, ‘Ghaint Purpose’, ‘Sherni’, ‘Zamantan ‘, ‘Golden Girl’, ‘Royal Jatti ‘, ‘Red Fulkari’ and ‘Velly’.
She later became AAP youth wing co-president and actively participated in the party’s protest programmes and took on the then Congress regime before the assembly polls.
She also sang a campaign song — ‘Kejriwal hai’ — for the Aam Aadmi Party before the 2022 assembly elections.
Before the 2022 assembly polls, Maan had said that if AAP comes to power, the government would give the MSP on each crop “within five minutes”. The opposition leaders used her video statement to target the AAP after it failed to fulfil the promise.
In September 2024, she had accused administrative officers in Mohali of seeking bribes in her name. She had then levelled allegations against executive officers and tehsildars of Kharar of bringing disrepute to her.
She also faced flak from her political rivals for the poor conditions of roads and the sewerage system at several places in her assembly constituency.
When she was a minister in June 2024, Maan tied the knot with advocate Shahbaaz Singh Sohi. They got married at a gurdwara in Mohali’s Zirakpur with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and several AAP leaders attending the ceremony. PTI CHS VSD RT
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