Routed across India, the fledgling Aam Aadmi Party is saved by four strong candidates and their spectacular victories.
Bhagwant Mann
Mann of the Series
Stand-up comedian Bhagwant Mann won from his hometown Sangrur by a huge margin of over 2.11 lakh votes. The 41-year-old singer-musician joined politics in 2012 as a People’s Party of Punjab candidate. He contested the state assembly polls from Lehragaga and lost. In March 2014, Mann left PPP and joined AAP. Mann gained nationwide recognition when he participated in the popular TV show The Great Indian Laughter Challenge.
Dr Dharamvira Gandhi
Doctor at the Helm
Dr Dharamvira Gandhi, 65, won the Patiala Lok Sabha seat by defeating his nearest rival Union minister of state Preneet Kaur (Congress) by a margin of 20,942 votes. A cardiologist, Gandhi is also known for his philanthropy. He has worked for the rights of the labour class and migrants in the state. In 1977, Gandhi had his first brush with politics when as a college student in Amritsar he was detained for a month for protesting against the Emergency.
Professor Sadhu Singh
Poetic Justice
Professor Sadhu Singh, 73, who won by over a lakh votes from Faridkot, is a retired college principal and lecturer. Singh taught English Literature at the Government Brijindra College (Faridkot) from 1971 to 1999. After retiring in 1999, became the principal of KK Marwah Girls College in Faridkot. The professor-politician is also a poet and has authored two Punjabi poetry books Pyasi Mehak and Saleeb Te Sargam.
Harinder Singh Khalsa
Officer Politician
Former diplomat Harinder Singh Khalsa won from Fatehgarh Sahib. Khalsa was an English lecturer at GGN Khalsa College, Ludhiana, before being selected for the Indian Police Service in 1972. In 1974, he worked as Executive Magistrate after clearing PCS (Executive). In the same year, he was selected for the IFS. In 1990, he settled in Ludhiana and headed the Punjab Human Rights Organization for a year. He has also served as secretary SGPC.