Harjot Singh Bains

{{infobox officeholder

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1990|11|15}}

| birth_place = Anandpur Sahib, Punjab, India

| image =

| parents =

| profession = Advocate practicing at Punjab and Haryana High Court

| occupation = politician

| nationality = Indian

| education = Schooling from Sacred Heart Sr. Sec. School, BRS Nagar Ludhiana and Kundan Vidya Mandir, Ludhiana

B.A.LL.B. (Hons) Punjab University.

Attended The London School Of Economics & Political Science for a course in International Human Rights.

| alma_mater = Panjab University,

| party = Aam Aadmi Party

| residence = Vill. Gambhirpur, Anandpur Sahib{{cite web|url=https://m.hindustantimes.com/assembly-elections/for-harjot-singh-bains-punjab-assembly-test-is-not-as-easy-as-88-in-class-10/story-jjKG74CuklplDatguoKjfN.html|title=For Harjot Singh Bains, Punjab assembly test is not as easy as 88% in Class 10 | assembly elections | punjab 2017|website=Hindustan Times|date=16 January 2017|accessdate=2018-12-06}}

| office = Cabinet Minister, Government of Punjab

| governor = Banwarilal Purohit
Gulab Chand Kataria

| 1blankname = Chief Minister

| subterm = Cabinet

| suboffice = Mann ministry

| 1namedata = Bhagwant Mann

| 2blankname = Ministry and Departments

| 2namedata = * Technical Education & Industrial Training

Higher Education and Languages
School Education

| term_start = 21 March 2022

| term_end =

| constituency =

| predecessor =

| office1 = Cabinet Minister for School Education, Government of Punjab

| predecessor1 = Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer

| term_start1 = 4 July 2022

| term_end1 =

| successor1 =

| office2 = Cabinet Minister for Tourism & Cultural Affairs, Government of Punjab

| predecessor2 = Charanjit Singh Channi

| term_start2 = 21 March 2022

| term_end2 = 4 July 2022

| successor2 = Anmol Gagan Maan

| office3 = Member of the Punjab Legislative Assembly

| constituency3 = Anandpur Sahib

| predecessor3 = Rana Kanwar Pal

| term_start3 = 16 March 2022

| term_end3 =

| spouse = Jyoti Yadav, IPS

}}

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

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

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 {{convert|300|km|mi|adj=mid|-long}}, 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.{{cite web |url=https://aamaadmiparty.org/teams/harjot-singh-bains/|title=Harjot Singh Bains | Aam Aadmi Party|date=31 July 2017}}

Political career

= 2017 Punjab assembly election =

In the 2017 Punjab Legislative Assembly election, he was the Aam Aadmi Party candidate to represent the Sahnewal Assembly constituency.{{cite web|url=https://www.oneindia.com/india/aap-announces-first-list-19-candidates-2017-punjab-elections-2172415.html|title=AAP announces first list for 19 candidates for 2017 Punjab assembly polls - Oneindia News|website=oneindia.com|date=4 August 2016|accessdate=2018-12-06}} 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.{{Cite web |date=March 26, 2016 |title=Nawa Punjab march: 'Writing on the wall, youth will script AAP's victory' |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/nawa-punjab-march-writing-on-the-wall-youth-will-script-aaps-victory/}}

= 2022 Punjab assembly election =

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.{{cite news |title=The playing 11: CM Bhagwant Mann's cabinet ministers |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/the-playing-11-cm-bhagwant-manns-cabinet-ministers-7827473/ |access-date=22 March 2022 |work=The Indian Express |date=20 March 2022 |language=en}} 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.{{Cite news |last= |first= |date=16 March 2022 |title=AAP's Bhagwant Mann sworn in as Punjab Chief Minister |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/elections/punjab-assembly/aaps-bhagwant-mann-sworn-in-as-punjab-cm/article65230309.ece |access-date=22 March 2022 |issn=0971-751X}}

On 14 October 2022, Bains was appointed the AAP Himachal Pradesh in charge, for the 2022 Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election.{{cite news |last1=Live |first1=A. B. P. |title=AAP ने हरजोत सिंह बैंस को बनाया हिमाचल का नया प्रभारी |url=https://www.abplive.com/news/india/himachal-pradesh-election-2022-aap-appoints-harjot-singh-bains-new-in-charge-of-himachal-2238000 |access-date=14 October 2022 |work=www.abplive.com |date=14 October 2022 |language=hi}}

Member of Legislative Assembly

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

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.{{cite news |last1= |first1= |title=Ten Punjab ministers to take oath on Saturday |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/punjab-ministers-to-take-oath-on-saturday-378869 |access-date=18 March 2022 |work=Tribuneindia News Service |date=18 March 2022 |language=en |archive-date=18 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318092034/https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/punjab-ministers-to-take-oath-on-saturday-378869 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=25,000 Government Jobs For Punjab: New Chief Minister's 1st Decision |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/25-000-government-jobs-for-punjab-new-chief-minister-bhagwant-manns-1st-decision-2831372 |access-date=19 March 2022 |work=NDTV.com |agency=Press Trust of India |date=19 March 2022 |archive-date=19 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319125442/https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/25-000-government-jobs-for-punjab-new-chief-minister-bhagwant-manns-1st-decision-2831372 |url-status=live }} Eight ministers including Bains who took oath were greenhorn (first term) MLAs.{{cite news |title=In Mann’s first list of Cabinet ministers, 8 greenhorn MLAs |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/aap-finalises-names-of-10-ministers-in-punjab-giant-killers-ignored-7826232/ |access-date=19 March 2022 |work=The Indian Express |date=19 March 2022 |language=en |archive-date=19 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319064250/https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/aap-finalises-names-of-10-ministers-in-punjab-giant-killers-ignored-7826232/ |url-status=live }}

As a cabinet minister in the Mann ministry, Bains was given the charge of four departments of the Punjab Government:{{cite news |title=Punjab portfolios announced; CM Mann keeps Home and Vigilance, Cheema gets Finance, Singla Health, Harbhajan Power |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/punjab-portfolios-announced-cheema-gets-finance-and-revenue-harbhajan-eto-power-dr-baljit-women-welfare-and-child-development-379489 |access-date=21 March 2022 |work=Tribuneindia News Service |date=21 March 2022 |language=en}}

Department of Legal & Legislative Affairs
Department of Mines & Geology
Department of Jails
Department of Tourism & Cultural Affairs

=Jails minister=

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.{{cite news |last1=Service |first1=Tribune News |title=Phone found on drug 'kingpin' Jagdish Bhola in Patiala Central Jail |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/phone-found-on-drug-kingpin-jagdish-bhola-in-patiala-central-jail-398419|date=26 May 2022 |access-date=27 May 2022 |work=Tribuneindia News Service |language=en}} 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.{{cite news |title=Previous govts did not take steps for prison reforms: Punjab Jails Minister Harjot Bains |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/previous-govts-did-not-take-steps-for-prison-reforms-punjab-jails-minister-harjot-bains-401252 |access-date=5 June 2022 |work=Tribuneindia News Service |date=5 June 2022 |language=en}} 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.{{cite news |title=After gangster's threat on FB, Punjab Minister says committed to turn jails into ‘sudhar ghar’ |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/after-gangsters-threat-on-fb-punjab-minister-says-committed-to-turn-jails-into-sudhar-ghar-426551 |access-date=30 August 2022 |work=Tribuneindia News Service |language=en}}

=Mines minister=

As Minister for mines, Bains introduced stricter regulations for mining. The regulations were designed to impact the sand mafia in Punjab.{{cite news |title=Government brings in stricter regulations for mining |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/government-brings-in-stricter-regulations-for-mining-421121 |access-date=12 August 2022 |work=Tribuneindia News Service |date=12 August 2022 |language=en}}