AAP picks Bhagwant Mann against Sukhbir Badal

AAP MP Bhagwant Mann will contest against Punjab Deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal in the Punjab assembly election, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Sunday.

“Bhagwant Mann will fight election against (Akali Dal leader) Sukhbir Badal,” Kejriwal tweeted after addressing a rally at Jalalabad where he made the announcement.

Mann responded that he would take up any role the party assigns him. Mann also challenged Congress leader and former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh to contest against him and Badal in Jalalabad constituency. 

Mann was elected to the Lok Sabha from Sangrur in 2014.  Meanwhile, Arvind Kejriwal will release the Aam Aadmi Party's 'Dalit manifesto' in poll-bound Punjab this week, where the scheduled caste community makes up around 32 per cent of the population.

Kejriwal will release the first-of-its-kind document, targeting a specific community and detailing its "systemic oppression", during his 10-day-long visit to the state, which began on Sunday. 

The manifesto is a product of the 'Dalit Dialogue' series held by the party across Punjab that began in August.

"Around 10-12 dialogues have been organised in Dalit-majority areas of the state. Essentially members of the community came and freely exchanged views and gave suggestions to be included in the document," AAP's national organisation- building head Durgesh Pathak said.