Harjot Singh Bains is an Indian politician of AAP from Punjab.

Harjot Singh Bains
Cabinet Minister, Government of Punjab
Assumed office
21 March 2022
GovernorBanwarilal Purohit
CabinetMann ministry
Chief MinisterBhagwant Mann
Ministry and Departments
  • Technical Education & Industrial Training
  • Higher Education and Languages
  • School Education
Cabinet Minister for School Education, Government of Punjab
Assumed office
4 July 2022
Preceded byGurmeet Singh Meet Hayer
Cabinet Minister for Tourism & Cultural Affairs, Government of Punjab
In office
21 March 2022 – 4 July 2022
Preceded byCharanjit Singh Channi
Succeeded byAnmol Gagan Maan
Member of the Punjab Legislative Assembly
Assumed office
16 March 2022
Preceded byRana Kanwar Pal
ConstituencyAnandpur Sahib
Personal details
Born (1990-11-15) 15 November 1990 (age 34)
Anandpur Sahib, Punjab, India
Political partyAam Aadmi Party
Spouse(s)Jyoti Yadav, IPS
Residence(s)Vill. Gambhirpur, Anandpur Sahib[1]
EducationB.A.LL.B. (Hons) Punjab University. Attended The London School Of Economics & Political Science for a course in International Human Rights.
Alma materPanjab University,
Occupationpolitician
ProfessionAdvocate practicing at Punjab and Haryana High Court

He won from Anandpur Sahib Assembly constituency in 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election. He is currently Cabinet Minister in Punjab Government. On 19 March 2022 he took oath as the youngest ever cabinet minister in the history of Punjab state by breaking the record of Bikram Singh Majithia.

Biography

edit

Bains hails from Village Gambhirpur in Shri Anandpur Sahib tehsil, district Ropar of Punjab. His grandfather Late S. Ujjagar Singh Bains was an employee in BBMB Nangal and worked in the construction of Bhakra Nangal Dam and his maternal grandfather Late S. Kabal Singh Dhillon was one of the leading contractors of his time in Nangal.

He did his schooling from Ludhiana and BA LLB Hons. from Punjab University. He has also been to London School of Economics and Political Science for a short course in International Human Rights Law. He is a practicing lawyer in Punjab and Haryana High Court.

He has been part of many social movements and founded a Pan Punjab United Youth Organization at the age of 18. He actively participated in the India Against Corruption movement. He was the founding president of the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab at the age of 23. In 2016, he led the 300-kilometre-long (190 mi), 15-day "Nawa Punjab March" against drug abuse in Punjab, walking from Shri in Fatehgarh Sahib district to the border of Hussainiwala in Ferozepur district.[2]

Political career

edit

2017 Punjab assembly election

edit

In the 2017 Punjab Legislative Assembly election, he was the Aam Aadmi Party candidate to represent the Sahnewal Assembly constituency.[3] He ran as a candidate from Sahnewal in the 2017 assembly elections but was unsuccessful, securing 39,000 votes at the age of 26. He is spokesperson for the Aam Aadmi Party and member of the National Executive of the Aam Aadmi party.[4]

2022 Punjab assembly election

edit

Mr. Bains won 2022 Punjab assembly elections from Shri Anandpur Sahib constituency by defeating Mr. Rana KP Singh of Congress Party by more than 45,000 votes.[5] The Aam Aadmi Party gained a strong 79% majority in the sixteenth Punjab Legislative Assembly by winning 92 out of 117 seats in the 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election. MP Bhagwant Mann was sworn in as Chief Minister on 16 March 2022.[6]

On 14 October 2022, Bains was appointed the AAP Himachal Pradesh in charge, for the 2022 Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election.[7]

Member of Legislative Assembly

edit

Bains was elected as the MLA in the 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election. He represented the Anandpur Sahib Assembly constituency in the Punjab Legislative Assembly.

Cabinet minister

edit

Bains took oath as a cabinet minister along with nine other MLAs on 19 March at Guru Nanak Dev auditorium of Punjab Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh.[8][9] Eight ministers including Bains who took oath were greenhorn (first term) MLAs.[10]

As a cabinet minister in the Mann ministry, Bains was given the charge of four departments of the Punjab Government:[11]

  1. Department of Legal & Legislative Affairs
  2. Department of Mines & Geology
  3. Department of Jails
  4. Department of Tourism & Cultural Affairs

Jails minister

edit

In May 2022, Bains announced that the jail superintendents would be held accountable for illegal use of mobile phones inside the jail premises by the inmates.[12] In June 2022, he announced that more than 1000 mobile phones were confiscated since the AAP government came to power in Punjab in February. He announced that the modernization of prisons was ongoing and the recruitment process of 1000 jail wardens was happening to meet the staff shortage in the prison department.[13] He stated that the prison officials in Punjab were committed to transforming jails into real 'sudhar ghars' (correctional facilities). He said that jails no longer provided luxurious facilities as they did in past.[14]

Mines minister

edit

As Minister for mines, Bains introduced stricter regulations for mining. The regulations were designed to impact the sand mafia in Punjab.[15]

Electoral performance

edit
Punjab Assembly election, 2017: Sahnewal[16][17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SAD Sharanjit Singh Dhillon 63,184 38.07
INC Satwinder Bitti 58,633 35.33
AAP Harjot Singh Bains 39,570 23.84
BSP Surinder Kumar 1,588 0.95
SAD(A) Manbir Singh Grewal 624 0.37
Majority 4551 2.74
Turnout 165972 75.50
Registered electors 219,853 [18]
SAD hold Swing
Punjab Assembly election, 2022: Anandpur Sahib[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
AAP Harjot Singh Bains[20] 82,132 57.92
INC Kanwarpal Singh[21] 36352 25.63
NOTA None of the above 1290 0.91
Majority 45,780 32.29
Turnout 141809
Registered electors 193,750 [22]
AAP gain from INC

References

edit
  1. ^ "For Harjot Singh Bains, Punjab assembly test is not as easy as 88% in Class 10 | assembly elections | punjab 2017". Hindustan Times. 16 January 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  2. ^ "Harjot Singh Bains | Aam Aadmi Party". 31 July 2017.
  3. ^ "AAP announces first list for 19 candidates for 2017 Punjab assembly polls - Oneindia News". oneindia.com. 4 August 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  4. ^ "Nawa Punjab march: 'Writing on the wall, youth will script AAP's victory'". 26 March 2016.
  5. ^ "The playing 11: CM Bhagwant Mann's cabinet ministers". The Indian Express. 20 March 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  6. ^ "AAP's Bhagwant Mann sworn in as Punjab Chief Minister". The Hindu. 16 March 2022. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  7. ^ Live, A. B. P. (14 October 2022). "AAP ने हरजोत सिंह बैंस को बनाया हिमाचल का नया प्रभारी". www.abplive.com (in Hindi). Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  8. ^ "Ten Punjab ministers to take oath on Saturday". Tribuneindia News Service. 18 March 2022. Archived from the original on 18 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  9. ^ "25,000 Government Jobs For Punjab: New Chief Minister's 1st Decision". NDTV.com. Press Trust of India. 19 March 2022. Archived from the original on 19 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  10. ^ "In Mann's first list of Cabinet ministers, 8 greenhorn MLAs". The Indian Express. 19 March 2022. Archived from the original on 19 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  11. ^ "Punjab portfolios announced; CM Mann keeps Home and Vigilance, Cheema gets Finance, Singla Health, Harbhajan Power". Tribuneindia News Service. 21 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  12. ^ Service, Tribune News (26 May 2022). "Phone found on drug 'kingpin' Jagdish Bhola in Patiala Central Jail". Tribuneindia News Service. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  13. ^ "Previous govts did not take steps for prison reforms: Punjab Jails Minister Harjot Bains". Tribuneindia News Service. 5 June 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  14. ^ "After gangster's threat on FB, Punjab Minister says committed to turn jails into 'sudhar ghar'". Tribuneindia News Service. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  15. ^ "Government brings in stricter regulations for mining". Tribuneindia News Service. 12 August 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  16. ^ Election Commission of India. "Punjab General Legislative Election 2017". Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  17. ^ Elections Result 2017
  18. ^ Chief Electoral Officer - Punjab. "Electors and Polling Stations - VS 2017" (PDF). Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  19. ^ "Punjab General Legislative Election 2022". Election Commission of India. 10 May 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  20. ^ "Punjab Elections 2022: Full list of Aam Aadmi Party candidates and their constituencies". The Financial Express. 21 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  21. ^ "Punjab Elections 2022: Full list of Congress Candidates and their Constituencies". FE Online. No. The Financial Express (India). The Indian Express Group. 18 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  22. ^ "Punjab General Legislative Election 2022". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
Political offices
Preceded by Punjab Cabinet minister for Legal & Legislative Affairs
2022–present
Succeeded by
Preceded by Punjab Cabinet minister for Mines & Geology
2022–present
Incumbent
Preceded by Punjab Cabinet minister for Jails
2022–present
Incumbent
Preceded by Punjab Cabinet minister for Tourism & Cultural Affairs
March – May 2022
Succeeded by
Preceded by Punjab Cabinet minister for Water Resources
2022–present
Incumbent
Preceded by Punjab Cabinet minister for School Education
2022–present
Incumbent
State Legislative Assembly
Preceded by
-
Member of the Punjab Legislative Assembly
from Anandpur Sahib Assembly constituency

2022
Incumbent