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Chandigarh: His CV
reads something like this: five-time chief minister, one of the seniormost political leaders in the country, widely networked,
respected and acceptable to most parties barring the Congress.
In the run-up to the presidential poll at the national level, as
several names are being proposed for the country's top
constitutional job, 84-year-old Parkash Singh Badal, the Punjab
Chief Minister and the Shiromani Akali Dal patron, could emerge as
the dark horse for the vice presidential election.
With a staunch ally in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and being
on one-on-one terms with the entire leadership of the BJP and the
National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the chances of Badal emerging
as a consensus candidate of the NDA for the vice president's post
are termed as "high".
Badal also enjoys personal rapport with some top leaders of the
United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government like National
Conference leader and Union Minister Farooq Abdullah, West Bengal
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and others.
However, Badal and his party are refraining from saying anything
on his chances for the vice presidential elections.
"The Akali Dal will go with whatever the BJP decides. We will
follow them. I am not talking about myself," Badal said.
His son and Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal too remained
non-committal on the issue.
"The issue has not been discussed with the NDA yet," Sukhbir Badal
said here.
Bada had spent nearly 17 years of his life in jails as a political
prisoner - booked for civil liberty agitation, sent to jail during
Emergency (1975-77) and put in prison during the 'Dharam Yudh
Morcha' days of Punjab in the 1980s, fighting for the rights of
Punjab and its people.
Badal began his record fifth term as chief minister in March this
year as his son and heir-apparent Sukhbir, who is also Punjab's
deputy chief minister, led the party from the front in the
assembly elections and created history in Punjab's politics by
ensuring a second term for the Akali Dal-BJP government.
No government had been returned to power for a second consecutive
term in Punjab in over 45 years and the Akali Dal, which is all
about the Badal father-son duo, achieved that.
Badal became the youngest chief minister of Punjab in 1969, at the
age of 43, even though his government lasted only a few months. He
had a brief stint as a union minister in 1977 before becoming
chief minister again (1977-80).
During the years of Sikh militancy in Punjab (1981-95), Badal
remained in political wilderness for over a decade.
Badal courted controversy during one of the agitations when he
publicly tore the constitution of India. He apologised for the
action years later. Ironically, he has taken oath as chief
minister five times, owing allegiance to the same constitution.
He returned as chief minister with a thumping majority in 1997.
Ousted in the 2002 assembly polls and facing corruption cases with
other family members and associates, Badal remained undeterred.
With the Akali Dal-BJP alliance, he romped home to power in 2007
to become chief minister for the fourth time. It was during this
tenure that he let son Sukhbir take control of the Akali Dal and
the government.
Sukhbir was made Akali Dal president in 2008 and elevated as
deputy chief minister in 2009. As of today, Sukhbir is the most
powerful man in the government and the party and Badal senior
looks happy and satisfied watching his son's political growth.
Married to Surinder Kaur, who died last year from cancer, the
couple has two children - son Sukhbir and daughter Preneet.
Badal's daughter-in-law (Sukhbir's wife), Harsimrat Badal, is the
Lok Sabha MP from Bathinda. His son-in-law (daughter's husband),
Adesh Pratap Singh Kairon, is a minister in his government.
A simple man with strong wit and coming from a landed,
agricultural family of Punjab, Badal is among the richest
politicians in the country.
(Jaideep Sarin can be contacted at jaideep.s@ians.in)
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