Gurmeet Singh Khudian, Balkar Singh inducted as new cabinet ministers in Punjab

AAP MLAs Gurmeet Singh Khudian and Balkar Singh were sworn-in as new ministers in Punjab on Wednesday as the Bhagwant Mann government expanded its cabinet.

Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit administered the oath of office and secrecy to the new ministers at the Raj Bhavan here.

Khudian, 60, is legislator from Lambi seat in Muktsar. He was the party's "giant slayer" who defeated five-time chief minister Parkash Singh Badal from his home turf by a margin of 11,396 votes in the 2022 Punjab Assembly polls.

Balkar Singh, 60, is an MLA from Kartarpur reserved seat in Jalandhar. Singh, a former police officer, had joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in 2021 after he retired from the Punjab Police. Singh is a first time legislator.

It is the third cabinet expansion of the 14-month old Mann-led government in Punjab.

In July 2022, the Bhagwant Mann government had carried out its first cabinet expansion, inducting five party legislators.

In January this year, senior AAP leader and Patiala Rural MLA Dr Balbir Singh was sworn-in as cabinet minister, after Fauja Singh Sarari tendered his resignation.