Chandigarh: Two-time Aam Aadmi Party MLA Kultar Singh Sandhwan was on Monday unanimously elected as Speaker of the 16th Punjab Vidhan Sabha. Sandhwan, 46, won from the Kotkapura seat in the recent state polls. He defeated Congress candidate Ajaipal Singh Sandhu by a margin of 21,130 votes. Sandhwan is the grandnephew of former president Giani Zail Singh and will succeed former Speaker Rana K P Singh.
In his maiden speech on the floor of the House, Mann congratulated Sandhwan on his election and assured members that all efforts will be made to ensure that the assembly proceedings are live-streamed.
Portfolios allocated: CM Bhagwant Singh Mann allocated portfolios to the 10 members of his newly-constituted council of ministers, retaining the home department for himself and appointing senior AAP politician Harpal Singh Cheema as the state’s new finance minister.
Cheema is a second-time MLA from Dirba and was Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the last House. The only other second-time MLA in the Cabinet, Gurmit Singh Meet Hayer, is the new education minister, and first-time MLA Dr Vijay Singla, a dentist, has been assigned the health department. Singla defeated Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala in Mansa.
The only woman in the cabinet, Dr Baljit Kaur, is the minister for women’s welfare and child development, first-time MLA from Bhoa Lal Chand Kataruchak has got food and civil supplies and Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal is the new rural department and panchayat minister.
