Parkash Singh Badal SAD nominee from Lambi, oldest in fray

Tribune News Service

Archit Watts

Muktsar, January 27

As SAD on Wednesday announced 94-year-old former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal from his home turf Lambi, he is set to become the oldest candidate in the electoral fray in the country. This will be his 13th Assembly elections, but this time, he is not the SAD-BSP alliance’s CM face as his son Sukhbir Badal’s name has already been announced.

He was the youngest sarpanch when he got elected from Badal village in 1947. Besides, he became the youngest CM in 1970. Further, he became the oldest CM in 2012. He has also the record of becoming the CM for five times from 1970-71, 1977-80, 1997-2002, 2007-12 and 2012-17. Besides, he has remained a member of Lok Sabha once.

In his over 75-year political journey, Badal has lost just one Assembly election and that too from Harcharan Singh Brar in Gidderbaha in 1967 by just 57 votes. He won the first Assembly election before the reorganisation of the state from Malout in 1957 on the ticket of Indian National Congress. He won Assembly election five times in a row from Gidderbaha in 1969, 1972, 1977, 1980 and 1985. Thereafter, he switched to Lambi and won five times in a row in 1997, 2002, 2007, 2012 and 2017.

Badal did not contest just two Assembly elections in his political career, once in 1962 and, thereafter, in 1992 when SAD had boycotted it.

He will face three first-timers this time. The Congress has fielded Jagpal Singh Abulkhurana, son of late minister Gurnam Singh Abulkhurana. AAP has fielded Gurmeet Singh Khudian, son of late MP Jagdev Singh Khudian and BJP has fielded its former Muktsar district chief Rakesh Dhingra.

Sources in SAD said the party kept waiting for the announcement of Badal’s candidature this time because Congress had last time surprised everyone by fielding Capt Amarinder Singh from Lambi just a few days ahead of the election. In 2012, it was a triangular contest between Badals – Parkash Singh Badal (SAD), his younger brother Gurdas Singh Badal (PPP) and estranged cousin Maheshinder Singh Badal (Congress). However, Parkash Badal won with 24,739 votes.

Before testing positive, Badal was holding a door-to-door campaign. He is set to return to his constituency in a day or two. In his absence, his relatives are campaigning for him. Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal too has already toured some villages.

Badal was conferred with Padma Vibhushan in 2015, which he returned in 2020 in protest against three farm laws.

It’ll be his 13th poll

• Parkash Singh Badal was the youngest sarpanch when he got elected from Badal village in 1947
• He became the youngest CM in 1970 and the oldest CM in 2012
• He also created a record of becoming the CM for five times from 1970-71, 1977-80, 1997-2002, 2007-12 and 2012-17

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