Amritsar, January 31
The ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today elected 46-year-old Sukhbir Singh Badal, son of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, as president of the party in the historical Teja Singh Samundri Hall in the SGPC complex.
He was elected by over 400 delegates with a voice vote, amidst slogans of “Bole So Nihal”. He has become the youngest ever president of the 88-year-old party which was formed on December 13, 1920 after the formation of SGPC.
Sukhbir succeeds his father who had been undisputed leader of the party for 14 years for three terms. The term of SAD president has also increased from three years to five years. Party sources said the elevation of Sukhbir as president has cleared decks for him succeeding his father as Chief Minister also.
In the beginning , Parkash Singh Badal, while addressing the delegates announced that he could not justify two posts (Chief Minister and SAD chief) and hence his successor be elected in a democratic way.
In 1999, the then SGPC chief, Gurcharan Singh Tohra, had earned the wrath of Badal for suggesting him to appoint a working president of SAD since he could not justify both posts. The suggestion of Tohra resulted in the split of the Shiromani Akali Dal. Later, Sarb Hind Shiromani Akali Dal, led by Tohra had merged into SAD in 2003.
Badal is the first person to step down voluntarily as SAD chief, though he has done it in favour of his son. It is also for the first time in the history of SAD that a son has succeeded his father as party chief.
The delegates nominated the Chief Minister as lifetime patron of Shiromani Akali Dal, keeping in view his “great contribution” to the party. Veteran Akali leaders, including Jagdev Singh Talwandi, Gurdev Singh Badal, Dhindsa and Balwinder Singh Bhunder accepted him their leader.
Immediately after his election, Junior Badal announced that SAD was not a party of the Sikhs of Punjab, but an organisation of the entire Punjabi community all over the world . On this, SGPC’s executive member said after electing a non-baptised president, the Shiromani Akali Dal should stop interfering in religious affairs.
Sukhbir Singh Badal is perhaps the first SAD president who is non-baptised. It is mandatory for office-bearers of the Shiromani Akali Dal to be “amritdhari” (baptised). Interestingly, Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, vice-president of the party who had once suggested that Sukhbir should get himself baptised after becoming working president of Akali Dal last year was the first to propose his name for the party presidentship. Former union minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and Capt Kanwaljit Singh,
general secretaries, endorsed the proposal of Brahmpura.
Born on July 9, 1962, Junior Badal studied at Lawrence School, Sanawar, and remained union minister of state for industry in the second Vajpayee ministry from 1998 to 1999.
Sukhbir Badal, an MP from Faridkot, was the working president of the SAD. He was appointed to the post after the SAD-BJP coalition came to power in March last year.
The junior Badal was declared elected unanimously as there was no other candidate to oppose him.
The Shiromani Akali Dal claims that Sukhbir represents the modern face of the party and has taken over the reigns at a time when the world is fast changing under globalisation and priorities are shifting, with the main thrust being on balanced development and growth in tune with the contemporary reality. At 46, he has been assigned the role of leading this second oldest political party in the country which has the basic characteristic of being just more than a political party and is identified with the people of Punjab as the symbol of Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiat.
His organisational capacity was put to severe test in the last Assembly election and his strategy and tactics produced the desired results under the guidance of his father Parkash Singh Badal.
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