Chandigarh: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patriarch Parkash Singh Badal, who remained a central figure of Punjab politics for nearly half a century, passed away at the age of 95 on Tuesday, April 25, after a brief illness.
He was admitted to a private hospital in Mohali on April 21 after experiencing chest pain and breathing difficulties. Since then, he was in constant observation in the intensive care unit.
As the news of his demise spreads, tributes pour in for the veteran politician.
He was just 42 years of age when he first became Punjab CM in 1970. He was 88 years when he demitted office for the last time in 2017. In total, he Was the chief minister of Punjab for a record five times. He also served as the Union minister of agriculture and irrigation in the Janata Party government in 1977.
Badal, who was president of the SAD from 1995-2008, was elected as an MLA 10 times, a record in Punjab. He began his political career in 1947 as a sarpanch of his native village Badal.
Since then, the identity of his village became permanently etched to his name. Badal first entered the Punjab assembly in 1957 from the Malout constituency in Muktsar district on a Congress ticket.
Later, he joined the SAD and became a central figure of anti-Congress politics within the state and outside, after the reorganisation of Punjab in 1966.
While he is said to be a moderate Akali leader who remained committed to peace in the border state, he has a mixed legacy. Some say that he was a people’s politician, while others accuse him of making the SAD a family-driven party.
His son Sukhbir Singh Badal is the current president of SAD.