Punjab Celebrity Politicians: Bhagwant Mann to Sunny Deol — A Report Card

Punjab celebrity politicians: From Bhagwant Mann who became Chief Minister to Sunny Deol who quit after one term, North Desk tracks 12 Punjab celebrities who entered politics — and two who always said no. The news peg is Diljit Dosanjh’s ‘Kade vi nahi’ this week.

Arvind Chhabra

Chandigarh, May 14

When a Chandigarh civil society group this week publicly appealed to Diljit Dosanjh to lead Punjab politically, and AAP ministers alleged that his refusal to join the BJP may have cost his manager a visit from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, one question quietly resurfaced in Punjab’s public conversation: what actually happens when a star enters politics here?

The answer, as the record shows, is: rarely what anyone expects.

Punjab celebrity politicians

North Desk tracked 12 celebrities from Punjab — singers, actors, cricketers, an Olympian, a Miss India — who crossed from the stage or the stadium into the political arena. Their report cards make for instructive reading.

---

THE ONES WHO ENTERED

---

On top of list of Punjab celebrity politicians is CM Punjab himself. He was the man who made Punjab laugh for two decades — on Laughter Challenge, on Gustakhi Maaf, on stages across the diaspora. Then he made Punjab gasp. Bhagwant Mann entered politics through Manpreet Badal’s PPP in 2011, lost an assembly election at Lehragaga in 2012, joined AAP, and won Sangrur Lok Sabha in 2014 by a record margin of over two lakh votes. He won Sangrur again in 2019. In 2022, AAP named him its CM face for Punjab. He won Dhuri and became Chief Minister in March 2022.

The comedian who became Chief Minister. The only genuine top-tier success story on this list.

VERDICT: Gold standard. Comedian to CM. ✅

ALSO READ: Australia NRI in Punjab: Came for his Wedding, Left with a Stalker — Tormented for 4 Years

---

Born in 1939 in a Punjabi Muslim family in the village of Kup Kalan in what is now Malerkotla district, Muhammad Sadiq is best known for his duets with Ranjit Kaur. He converted to Sikhism in 2006. At an age when most people have long retired, he entered politics — winning the Bhadaur assembly seat on a Congress ticket in 2012. His election was challenged in court on the grounds that as a Muslim-born candidate, he was ineligible to contest from a Scheduled Caste reserved seat.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court quashed his election, but the Supreme Court, on his appeal, stayed the HC order — and he was ultimately upheld. He lost Jaito in 2017, then won the Faridkot Lok Sabha seat in 2019. He was not fielded in 2024. And in December 2024, he shared the stage with Diljit Dosanjh at the Dil-luminati concert in Ludhiana — proof that his cultural standing outlasted his political career.

A Muslim folk singer who won a Scheduled Caste reserved seat in Punjab, survived a Supreme Court challenge, and became an MP in his eighties. There is no other story quite like it.

VERDICT: Won at 80. Punjab’s most unlikely MP. Retired with dignity. 🎤

---

The two-time Olympian and former India hockey captain entered politics with SAD, winning Jalandhar Cantonment in 2012. He fell out with SAD, drifted toward Congress, and won again in 2017 — this time on a Congress ticket, and became Education and Sports Minister. In 2022, when AAP swept Punjab and 92 Congress MLAs were wiped out, Pargat Singh was one of only 18 Congress MLAs to hold on — defeating an AAP opponent who was herself an Olympic gold medallist. Three consecutive terms. Three different political atmospheres. Still going.

He never set the political world on fire. But he survived every wave. That, in Punjab’s volatile politics, is an achievement in itself.

VERDICT: Three terms, different parties, survived. The quiet survivor. 🏑

---

The most theatrical entry. The most theatrical exit. Sidhu won Amritsar Lok Sabha on a BJP ticket in 2004, 2007 by-election, and 2009. He left BJP in 2016, formed Awaaz-e-Punjab briefly, and joined Congress in 2017. He won Amritsar East MLA, became Tourism Minister, and was made PPCC chief in 2021 — a role that set him on a collision course first with CM Captain Amarinder Singh, CM Charanjit Singh Channi and nearly everyone else in the Congress. In 2022, he lost Amritsar East to AAP’s Jeevan Jyot Kaur. Then came the road rage conviction. He served jail time. He is currently in political wilderness, with a career that once seemed destined for the very top.

No one arrived with more talent. No one wasted it more comprehensively.

VERDICT: Brilliant entry. Spectacular implosion. ⚡

---

The Turbanator bowled a googly on his own party. AAP nominated him to the Rajya Sabha from Punjab in July 2022 — part of the party’s star-power push after its Punjab landslide. His parliamentary attendance was reported at 28% against a national average of 79%. He participated in zero debates. Then, on April 24, 2026, he joined the BJP — part of the mass defection of AAP Rajya Sabha MPs that North Desk has previously reported, a group that included Raghav Chadha. One term. One U-turn.

Came in as AAP’s prize signing. Left as BJP’s latest acquisition. The scoreboard tells its own story.

VERDICT: In. Out. Now BJP. One term, one U-turn. 🔄

---

Hans Raj Hans has belonged to more parties than most politicians — SAD, then Congress, then BJP. He contested Jalandhar on a SAD ticket in 2009 and lost. After switching to BJP, he won North West Delhi in 2019 by a massive margin, riding the Modi wave. Then, perhaps sensing an opportunity to come home to Punjab, he shifted to contest Faridkot in the 2024 general elections. He finished fifth. The Delhi seat he had won was gone. The Punjab seat he had wanted never came.

One good win in the wrong constituency. One bad gamble trying to come home.

VERDICT: One wave win, one misread. Fell trying to return. 📉

---

Born into a Punjabi Jat Sikh family, Kirron Kher grew up in Chandigarh and graduated from the Department of Indian Theatre at Panjab University. She joined BJP in 2009 and was fielded from Chandigarh in 2014 — winning with 1,91,362 votes, defeating Congress’s Pawan Bansal, with AAP’s Gul Panag in third. She won again in 2019. Two terms as an MP in Chandigarh. She was not fielded in 2024 due to health. BJP fielded Sanjay Tandon in her place.

She came, she served two terms, she left on her own terms. In a list with several spectacular crashes, that counts for something.

VERDICT: Steady two-termer. Exited with dignity. 🎭

---

The original template. Vinod Khanna won Gurdaspur on a BJP ticket in 1998, 1999, 2004, and 2014 — four terms spanning nearly two decades. He was not a transformative MP. He was not a constituency-builder in any visible sense. But he won, repeatedly, and he stayed. He died in office in April 2017, still an MP. The seat stayed with BJP for another term— Sunny Deol won it in 2019.

Four terms. Loyal to one party. Died in harness. The benchmark for longevity on this list.

VERDICT: Loyal. Long-serving. Died in harness. 🎗️

---

He won Gurdaspur in 2019 by 82,000 votes — inheriting Vinod Khanna’s seat on the Modi wave. His parliamentary attendance was reported at 18% against a national average of 79%. He participated in zero debates and asked one parliamentary question — on sand mining. In 2023, before the 2024 election cycle began, he publicly stated he was not cut out for politics and stepped back. BJP fielded another candidate in 2024.

At least he said it himself. Give him that.

VERDICT: Won once. Admitted he wasn’t cut out for it. Walked away. 🚪

---

Gul Panag grew up in Punjab — her father Lt. Gen. H.S. Panag served in the Indian Army — and holds a Master’s in Political Science from Panjab University, Chandigarh. She contested Chandigarh for AAP in 2014, finishing third behind Kirron Kher and Congress’s Pawan Bansal. She did not contest again. She returned to films and web series — appearing in The Family Man and Paatal Lok — and has remained active in public commentary on civic issues.

The most academically prepared candidate on this list. One attempt, one loss, moved on.

VERDICT: One attempt. Lost. Back to films. 🎬

---

The youngest and most current success story. Anmol Gagan Maan joined AAP in July 2020, inducted by Bhagwant Mann himself at a press conference in Chandigarh. She contested Kharar in 2022 and won. She was appointed Minister for NRI Affairs in the Mann cabinet — a significant portfolio for a Punjab government whose diaspora relationship is central to its identity. She is still active.  

First election, first win, first cabinet berth. The one to watch.

VERDICT: Won first time. Went to cabinet. Watch this space. ⭐

---

He joined Congress on December 3, 2021, at a press conference in Chandigarh attended by CM Charanjit Singh Channi and PPCC chief Navjot Sidhu. He contested SY Wala in the 2022 assembly election and lost narrowly to AAP’s Vijay Singla. On May 29, 2022 — barely three months after polling day — he was shot dead in Jagraon, Mansa district. The Lawrence Bishnoi gang was identified as responsible.

Contested once. Lost. Did not live to fight again. Punjab has never quite stopped grieving.

VERDICT: One contest. One loss. Gone too soon. 🕯️

---

THE ONES WHO SAID NO

---

For four decades, every party has wanted him. Congress wanted him. Akali Dal wanted him. AAP wanted him. He has been approached more times than he can probably count. His answer has been the same every time: no. He has never explained it at great length, which is itself an explanation. He is still performing. He is still respected across every political divide in Punjab. The two facts are not unrelated.

The original ‘Kade vi nahi’. And the proof that the answer was right.

---

Last week, when Chandigarh’s Jaago Punjab Manch publicly appealed to him to lead Punjab, and AAP ministers linked his reported refusal to join BJP to the alleged attack on his manager, Diljit Dosanjh posted three words on X: “Kade vi nahi.”

He is globally recognised in a way no Punjabi artist has been before him — performing at Coachella, appearing on The Tonight Show, selling out arenas across North America. His brand is built on being above the political fray. He has been called Khalistani in India and India-wala abroad. He has faced the Lawrence Bishnoi gang’s shadow and pro-Khalistan protesters at his concerts. Through all of it, his answer to politics has not changed.

Looking at the twelve names above, it is difficult to argue he is wrong.

ALSO READ: Rajinder Gupta Security Withdrawn After BJP Switch: 20-Year Cover Gone Overnight, Gupta Cites Moosewala