Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann on Sunday launched the AAP’s door-to-door election campaign for the 2027 Punjab assembly polls, pitching his government’s ‘Mann Da Munafa’ narrative, claiming that every family is receiving an annual benefit of Rs 1.82 lakh from its welfare initiatives like free electricity and healthcare.Mann said the AAP would go to every household with its record of work undertaken since 2022, while asserting that the campaign would remain positive and focus on what the government has delivered for Punjab.He said the AAP would seek people’s support based on the work delivered on the ground and question the opposition over its record and the issue of combating drugs.During the outreach, Mann went door-to-door in Dhuri, met several families and interacted with elderly residents, women, youngsters and children.He listened to their views, discussed the work undertaken by the government over the past four-and-a-half years and explained how various schemes and initiatives were translating into direct benefits for ordinary households.“Every family in Punjab is today benefiting by Rs 1.82 lakh annually from the initiatives rolled out by our government. This is not an abstract figure. It represents money a household no longer has to take out of its own pocket for electricity, healthcare, education and other essential services,” he said.“I want every family to sit down and calculate for itself how much it is saving every month. That is the real meaning of ‘Mann Da Munafa’,” Mann added.Claiming that his welfare initiatives reduced the financial burden of essential services on families, the chief minister said the government allowed them to use their hard-earned money for other household needs.“Free electricity, healthcare, education, and Maavan Dheeyan Satkar Yojna are helping people save their hard-earned money. Lakhs of households across Punjab are receiving zero electricity bills, which means that money that earlier went towards electricity charges can now be spent on children, homes and farms,” he said.“The expansion of primary healthcare has also meant that a fever, a check-up or a basic diagnostic test does not have to force a family to borrow money or dip into its savings,” Mann added.He said improvements in government schools have given parents greater confidence to educate their children without the burden of private fees.“For decades, the people of Punjab paid taxes without receiving facilities in proportion to what they contributed. Our government is working to close that gap by directing resources towards households rather than privilege,” the CM said.“Mann Da Munafa is a simple question for every family: how much better off is your household today than it was before? Calculate what you save every month, and that answer will speak louder than any campaign speech,” he said.Speaking about rural development, Mann said his government changed how resources were allocated to villages and made village-level development a central part of its approach.On the campaign strategy, he said AAP would keep its election campaign focused on its governance record rather than personal attacks or negativity.“Our entire election campaign will remain positive. We will talk only about our work. We will place our record before the people and let them judge it, rather than build a campaign on abuse and negativity,” he said.“Our workers and candidates will carry the same message into every constituency: the savings delivered to families, the villages developed and public money spent on public welfare,” he added.He said the door-to-door outreach provided the most direct opportunity for political representatives to account for their work before the people, adding that the campaign would be taken across Punjab, with party workers and candidates presenting the government’s record directly before households.
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On the opposition, Mann said, “Congress is fighting among itself in Punjab, with its leaders more occupied with internal contests than with the concerns of the people, while the Shiromani Akali Dal has been wiped out and no longer commands a presence on the ground.”On the issue of drugs, Mann questioned the BJP’s position, claiming that drugs are being brought into Punjab from Gujarat.“With what face is the BJP talking about drugs when it is bringing drugs into Punjab from Gujarat, he asked. PTI
