CHANDIGARH, July 7 (PTI): The regular ‘band, bajaa, baraat’ were missing but the celebratory sparkle shone through the security cover as Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann got married to a doctor from Kurukshetra at his home on Thursday.
It was a private ceremony without the usual crowds, so much a part of a big, fat Indian wedding.
Mann, 48, the first chief minister of the state to get married while in office, tied the knot with Dr Gurpreet Kaur from Pehowa in Kurukshetra in Haryana.
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Tight security arrangements were in place at the chief minister’s home in Sector 2.
The wedding feast included ‘dal makhni’, ‘chana masala’, ‘karahi paneer’, ‘navratan biryani’, ‘jeera onion pulao’, ‘kalonji wale aloo’ and some continental dishes as well as ‘moong dal halwa’, fresh fruit trifle, and ice cream for dessert, Aam Aadmi Party insiders said.
Though not many details were available, visuals on television and Twitter showed Mann and his bride at the Anand Karaj ceremony.
AAP colleague Raghav Chadha also shared some images on Twitter showing Mann in his usual yellow turban with a ‘kalgi’ and a gold coloured kurta-pyjama. Gupreet Kaur was dressed in red bridal finery.
There were also pictures of the groom at his festooned home, walking under a ‘phulkari dupatta’ held up by Chadha among others, and at the ceremony.
Both Mann and Gupreet Kaur could be seen smiling in one picture. Another showed them sitting together for lunch after the wedding rituals.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Chadha, AAP MP Sanjay Singh and other leaders were also present at the ceremony.
It is learnt that Kejriwal played the role of an elder from Mann’s family and actively participated in the wedding rituals.
Kejriwal congratulated the couple in a tweet later.
“Wishing Bhagwant Mann and Gurpreet Bhabhi for marriage,” he said.
This is Mann’s second marriage. He separated from his first wife in 2015 — they have two children, daughter Seerat Kaur (21) and son Dilshan (17).
Gurpreet Kaur, 30, shared a picture of herself on Twitter and wrote, “Din Shagna Da Chadya (the day of marriage has arrived)”.
She also thanked AAP leaders for their congratulatory messages.
According to party insiders, the wedding, solemnised according to Sikh rituals, was attended by Mann’s mother and sister and just a few guests, including Kejriwal and his family.
Before the wedding, Kejriwal told reporters at the airport here, “Today is a day of immense happiness that my younger brother and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann ji is getting married and is making a new beginning.
“May god bless him with a happy married life and both (the couple) always remain happy.”
Chadha said, “A new chapter in CM Bhagwant Mann’s life is going to start today. I congratulate Mann saab’s family, his mother and sister. It will be a small function. Only family members will attend.”
“We all are happy that happiness has returned to Mann saab’s family after a long time. It was his mother’s dream to see her son getting settled again. Today, that dream is going to come true,” he told reporters.
Gurpreet Kaur completed her MBBS from a private university in Haryana in 2018. She has two elder sisters who are settled abroad.
AAP leader and minister Harjot Singh Bains in a tweet said, “God Bless the Sweet Couple. I am happy for @BhagwantMann ji and Dr Gurpreet ji.”
BJP leader Tarun Chugh also congratulated Mann on this occasion.
“Congratulations to Punjab Chief minister @BhagwantMann Ji on the occasion of his wedding. May Waheguru shower his blessings on the couple.”
