Gurdev Singh ‘Dev’ Mann cycled for four-and-a-half hours to reach the Assembly in Chandigarh, all the way from Nabha.
New Delhi: Remember “Shivaji Rao” in the movie Nayak, when many heads turned on the arrival of Anil Kapoor acting as the Chief Minister of the state. The Punjab Vidhan Sabha, too, is encountering such scenes these days. On Bhagwant Mann becoming the Chief Minister of Punjab, his MLAs are no less than a “Nayak”. On the first day of the Vidhan Sabha, it was the first time in the history of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha that the whole Punjab Secretariat staff came to the corridors and hooted while welcoming their new Chief Minister. And, the first day of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha session again turned out to be a bunch of surprises for the people of Punjab.
A lot of heads turned when when Nabha Constituency AamAadmi Party (AAP) winner Gurdev Singh ‘Dev’ Mann came to the Punjab Assembly on cycle. What is more interesting is that he cycled for a good four-and-a-half hours to reach the Chandigarh situated Punjab Vidhan Sabha, all the way from Nabha. Popularly known as “Dev Mann”, in the 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election, he contested from Nabha as a AAP member and defeated Shiromani Akali Dal’s candidate and the sitting MLA of that time, Sadhu Singh Dharamsot by a large margin of 51,554 votes.
The Sunday Guardian spoke to Dev Mann, and asked, “Is it feasible for you to everyday cycle for 9 hours to and fro from Nabha to Chandigarh?” He answered humbly, “I will stay here in Chandigarh if the Assembly session is regular; else after that, I will go back via cycle only.” Asked, “Why cycle, is it to woo people?” he smiled and said, “It could be news for you, but for me, this is how I have been brought up. The cycle is my regular vehicle. I am born in a very poor family, my father raised us all six brothers and sisters working at a cycle repair shop. So, it could be appealing for people to see me on cycle being an MLA. But for people in my constituency, it is common for them.”
The Sunday Guardian asked Dev Mann: “You were fixing some street lights of Nabha after you became MLA; why do you need to do it?” Dev Mann answered, “I can fix lights; street lights were causing the issue, so I fixed it. I did it because I could do it, it is as simple as that. Media may think what they wish to think, this is how I am.”
On being asked, “You announced after becoming MLA that you will draw Rs 1 as salary, no security, no benefits, How would you be able to survive when you say that you are not that well off?”, Dev Mann answered, “I have no major expenses. I am married to a Canadian citizen, my wife is a Vietnamese, she is working there and we handle each others’ expenses.”
This time, many big stalwarts of the state tasted defeat. Former Chief Minister and Maharaja of Patiala Captain Amarinder Singh lost the election. Both the big leaders of Shiromani Akali Dal, former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, and former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, also lost the elections from their respective seats. Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi contested from two seats and lost from both places.