Harjot Singh Bains is an Indian advocate and politician, who is a member of the Aam Aadmi Party. On 19 March 2022, he took oath as the Cabinet Minister for Tourism & Cultural Affairs in the Government of Punjab, becoming the youngest-ever cabinet minister in the history of Punjab. On 4 July 2022, he assumed the office of Cabinet Minister for Tourism & Cultural Affairs in the Government of Punjab.
Wiki/Biography
Harjot Singh Bains was born on Thursday, 15 November 1990 (age 32 years; as of 2022) in Village Gambhirpur, Shri Anandpur Sahib, Rupnagar, Punjab. His zodiac sign is Scorpio.
Harjot Singh Bains in childhood
He did his schooling at a school in Anandpur Sahib. An academically good student, Harjot secured 88% marks in his class 10 examination with 96 marks in Maths and 94 marks in Science. He attended Panjab University’s regional center at Ludhiana to pursue his B. A. LLB (Hons) (2014). Thereafter, he obtained an International Human Right Law degree from the London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE), London, UK (2018). Later, he started practicing Law at Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chandigarh.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 10″
Hair Colour: Brown
Eye Colour: Brown
Family
Parents & Siblings
Harjot Singh Bains’ father, Sohan Singh Bains, owns a transport business. His mother, Palwinder Kaur, is a homemaker. He has a younger sister, Anmol Kaur.
Harjot Singh Bains with his mother, Palwinder Kaur
Wife
He is unmarried.
Other Relatives
Harjot’s paternal grandfather, Ujjagar Singh Bains, was an employee of the Bhakra Beas Management Board, Nangal, who worked on the construction of the Bhakra Nangal Dam. His maternal grandfather, S. Kabal Singh Dhillon, was one of the leading contractors of his time in Nangal.
Harjot Singh Bains’ paternal grandfather, Ujjagar Singh Bains
Fiancée
Harjot Singh Bains exchanged the rings with IPS officer Jyoti Yadav on 12 March 2023.
Harjot Singh Bains with Jyoti Yadav
Religion
Harjot Singh Bains follows Sikhism.
Address
House No. 116, Village Gambhirpur (Lower), Post Office Dher, Tehsil Anandpur Sahib, District Rupnagar- 140133
Signature
Career
Lawyer
After obtaining an international degree in Law from London, Harjot Singh Bains started practicing as an advocate at the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, Chandigarh.
Harjot Singh Bains in his office
He practiced law for around a year before plunging full-time into politics.
Harjot Singh Bains with a fellow advocate
Politician
At the age of 23, Harjot was the founding president of the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab. During the 2013 Delhi Assembly elections, Harjot Singh informally headed a small team that was given the responsibility of managing the Hari Nagar and Tilak Nagar segments which the party later won. After emerging as the single largest party in Delhi and forming its government in 2013, the party started establishing its roots in Punjab. In May-June 2013, Harjot Singh Bains was made the convener of the Aam Aadmi Party for the Punjab state. After the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Bains was made the youth wing chief o Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab. While talking about it in an interview, Harjot Singh said,
I was happy to be given a specific task of garnering youth support, which has proved to the key for our party.”
Legislative Assembly Elections
The 2017 Punjab Assembly Election
In 2017, Harjot Singh Bains contested the Legislative Assembly elections from the Sahnewal constituency on a ticket of the Aam Aadmi Party. Bains lost the elections, securing 39,000 votes. The elections were won by Sharanjit Singh Dhillon of Shiromani Akali Dal. Soon, he became a spokesperson for the Aam Aadmi Party and a member of the National Executive of AAP.
Harjot Singh Bains protesting against the Vaccine Scam of Captain Amrinder Singh’s Government outside the residence of Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu
The 2022 Punjab assembly election
Harjot Singh Bains contested the 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly elections from the Anandpur Sahib Assembly constituency on a ticket of the Aam Aadmi Party.
Harjot Singh Bains during election campaigning
He won the elections by defeating Kanwarpal Singh Rana of the Indian National Congress by a margin of 45,780 votes. The party gained a majority in Punjab by winning 92 out of 117 seats in the 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election and Bhagwant Mann was sworn in as Chief Minister of Punjab on 16 March 2022.
Harjot Singh Bains raising an issue in Punjab Legislative Assembly
On 14 October 2022, Harjot Singh Bains was appointed as the in-charge of the AAP Himachal Pradesh for the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections.
Harjot Singh Bains during a press conference
Cabinet Minister (Government of Punjab)
Cabinet Minister of Tourism & Culture, Mines & Geology, Law & Legislative Affairs, and Jails
After the Aam Aadmi Party came into power in Punjab in 2022, Bains was included in the cabinet in the Mann ministry. He took oath as the cabinet minister on 19 March 2023 at Guru Nanak Dev auditorium of Punjab Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh.
Harjot Singh Bains taking the oath as the Cabinet Minister of Tourism & Culture, Mines & Geology, Law & Legislative Affairs, and Jails
He was given charge of four departments, namely –
- Department of Legal & Legislative Affairs
- Department of Mines & Geology
- Department of Tourism & Cultural Affairs
Holding the jail ministry, in May 2022, Harjot Singh announced that the jail superintendents would be held responsible for the illegal use of mobile phones by the inmates inside the premises of jails. A month later, Bains announced that since the AAP government came into power in Punjab around 1000 mobile phones were seized from the prisons in Punjab. Harjot also claimed that the government was making constant efforts to modernize the prisons and around 1000 jail wardens were being recruited to fill the vacant positions. He also worked towards transforming jails into real ‘sudhar ghars’ (correctional facilities).
Harjot Singh Bains at a United Nations Conference
Bains also claimed that during his tenure as the Jail Minister, no luxurious facilities were provided to certain high-profile prisoners as they did in previous governments. Heading the mines ministry, Harjot Singh Bains introduced stricter regulations for mining. Several regulations were made to affect the sand mafia in the Punjab region. After serving in the position for around three and a half months, Bains was divested of both portfolios in a Cabinet reshuffle and was given the ministry of higher education and school education.
Cabinet Minister for School Education
On 4 July 2022, Harjot Singh Bains assumed the office of Cabinet Minister for School Education in the Government of Punjab. He was given a charge of three departments, namely-
- Technical Education & Industrial Training
- Higher Education and Languages
Promising the public of Punjab to bring better facilities for students during his tenure, he once tweeted,
Soon you will see guards standing outside Govt. Schools in Punjab, all Sr. sec. Schools will have Campus Managers & up to Rs. 50,000/- per month grant to schools for sanitation & Cleanliness.”
In February 2023, Harjot Singh organized a day-long orientation workshop for secondary education officers at Punjab School Education Board auditorium to discuss the ways to increase enrollment in government schools during the new academic session. A show cause notice was issued to officers who remained absent from the workshop.
Harjot Singh Bains visiting a school in Punjab as the Education Minister of Punjab
Social Activism
Since his college days, Harjot Singh Bains has been a part of many social movements. At the age of 18, he founded a pan-Punjab United Youth Organisation to promote social welfare. In 2011, he actively participated in India Against Corruption movement in the Punjab region. In 2016, Harjot Singh Bains led the 15-day ‘Nawa Punjab March’ against drug abuse in Punjab. Covering a distance of around 300 kilometers (190 mi), the March started from Shri in Fatehgarh Sahib district and ended at the border of Hussainiwala in Ferozepur district.
Harjot Singh Bains addressing the public at a social rally in Shri Anandpur Sahib
Salary/Income
In the financial year 2021-2022, Harjot Singh Bains’ total income was Rs. 8,05,085.
Net Worth
Harjot Singh Bains’ net worth for the financial year 2021-2022 was Rs. 2,18,32,000 (approx.). It excludes the net worth of his wife and dependents (minors).
Assets & Properties
Movable Assets
- Bank Deposits: Rs 1,93,100
- Shares, Bonds, and Debentures: Rs. 5,07,355
- Insurance Policy: Rs. 25,000
- Motor Vehicles: Rs. 36,70,000
Immovable Assets
- Agricultural Land: Rs. 22,00,000
- Residential Buildings: Rs. 1,60,00,000
Note: The given estimates of movable and immovable assets are according to the year 2021. It excludes the assets owned by his wife and dependents (minor).
Facts/Trivia
- Harjot Singh Bains loves travelling and reading books in his leisure time. Poetic by heart, Bains also loves writing poetry.
- Harjot Bains is a food enthusiast and loves trying out different cuisines. He is also fond of cooking.
Harjot Sing Bains’ Instagram highlight
- His family and friends fondly call him HSB.
- Bains is a coffee addict.
- Having no political legacy, Harjot Singh is the first person from his family to step into politics.
- A dog lover, Harjot Singh Bains has posted several pictures with dogs on his Instagram account.
Harjot Singh Bains posing with dogs
- He owns an Innova Tacry and a Wagon R.