Sukhbir had earlier claimed that the SAD-BSP alliance would win over 80 of the 117 Assembly seats in the state. (File) It will be the biggest litmus test of Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal’s political career when counting of votes are done on Thursday. The 59-year-old contested the February 20 polls from Jalalabad Assembly constituency with no formidable opponent, but as party chief, he has a lot at stake.
Sukhbir is credited with bringing Akali Dal to power for an unprecedented second consecutive term in 2012. He is equally blamed for worst ever performance of the Panthic party in 2017 when it finished an abysmal third, behind debutant Aam Aadmi Party.
Sukhbir currently represents Ferozepur parliamentary constituency in the Lok Sabha. He and his wife Harsimrat Kaur Badal (who represents Bathinda Lok Sabha constituency) were the only two from Akali Dal who won in 2019 parliamentary elections. Punjab has 13 parliamentary seats.
Having come out of the shadow of his father and Akali patron Parkash Singh Badal — a five-time chief minister and party candidate from Lambi, the constituency he represents in Vidhan Sabha — Sukhbir has been at the centrestage leading the fight for the Akali Dal’s revival.
Sukhbir is known for his ‘corporate style’ of functioning. As per the affidavit filed with the Election Commission, Sukhbir along with wife Harsimrat have assets to the tune of Rs 202 crore with stakes in transport and hospitality business.
As SAD finished third by winning just 15 seats in 117-member Vidhan Sabha in 2017, a number of veteran Akali leaders revolted against Sukhbir, questioning his style of functioning and blaming his for the debacle. Veteran Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa went on to form SAD (Saanyukt), which has contested polls in alliance with the BJP and Captain Amarinder Singh led Punjab Lok Congress.
Sukhbir was appointed as deputy Chief Minister of Punjab during Akali Dal led government in January 2009.
He was appointed as acting president of Akali Dal in March 2007 and regular president of the party on January 31, 2008, the position he continues to hold till date.
On Wednesday, Sukhbir sought a ban on exit polls from the Election Commission (EC), the demand coming after a number of exit polls predicted that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is set to form the next government in Punjab.
“Opinion & #ExitPolls are now a scam that amounts to electoral malpractice through bags of govt money to subvert free & fair poll. Exit polls show an unethical collusion between Satta & TV Channels. I urge EC to step in to stop this subversion of democracy with money power,” he said in a tweet.
He exuded confidence that the SAD, which fought the polls in a tie-up with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), would form the next government in Punjab and said the top priority for the alliance after coming to power would be to revamp the health and education sectors in the state.
“SAD-BSP will revamp education & healthcare as top priority as we look confidently to form govt. We have a vision to take Punjab into the era of world class social & material infrastructure & human resource development. Punjabis deserve clean, sensitive & visionary governance,” the former deputy chief minister said in another tweet.
Sukhbir had earlier claimed that the SAD-BSP alliance would win over 80 of the 117 Assembly seats in the state.
He also slammed Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi for not offering “help” to the students from Punjab who were stranded in war-hit Ukraine. The SAD leader took a dig at Channi for his “goat milking gimmick” and asked him to come out of the “nautanki” (theatrics) mode.
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