Parkash Singh Badal to resign on Sunday
New Delhi: As the Congress headed towards forming the next government in Punjab, chief minister Parkash Singh Badal said he will resign on Sunday and support Amarinder Singh on the issues related to the rights of the state. Badal said he will ask his son and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Badal to form a committee so that the reasons behind the defeat can be discussed in detail. “I will meet the Punjab Governor tomorrow and submit my resignation,” Badal, who has been the chief minister of Punjab five times, said. The 89-year-old veteran, who was the oldest candidate in the fray, said he accepts the people’s verdict and his party was ready to extend full cooperation to Amarinder Singh to work for the rights of Punjab. On SAD’s dismal show in the polls, he said the reasons will be discussed threadbare at the core committee meeting of the party. “I will also ask SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal to set up a committee to look into the reason behind party’s failure in the polls,” he said. The counting trends have indicated that a Congress government was set to take over in Punjab. Badal’s political career is as old as India’s independence but the 70th anniversary of the historic event may just bring upon curtains on his political career. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patriarch, who has been in politics since 1947, contested assembly elections from Lambi constituency. Having entered politics at the age of 20 by becoming the sarpanch of the eponymous village, Badal is now the oldest chief minister of the country. Interestingly, when he was sworn in as the chief minister of Punjab for the first time at the age of 45, he was the youngest chief minister of a state in India. Badal is a 10-time member of the Punjab legislative assembly. Badal has defeated his nearest rival Congress candidate Captain Amarinder Singh by 22,770 votes from Lambi assembly constituency. Badal polled 66,375 votes while Congress candidate Amarinder Singh secured 43,605 votes. Aam Aadmi Party candidate Jarnail Singh was at the third spot, securing 21,254 votes, PTI reported. The SAD fought for political survival in Punjab in the face of growing anti-incumbency, where they have been in power for two consecutive terms. Their second term has been marred with allegations of corruption, nepotism and growing alienation among voters. Badal has spent approximately 17 years in jail during various movements including emergency. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called him “Nelson Mandela of India.” SAD has been in alliance with the BJP in the state and is a member of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in the centre. He is the first chief minister to be elected for two consecutive terms. Parkash Singh Badal, handed over the reins of the party to his son Sukhbir Singh Badal in 2008. Since then, other members of his family, including daughter-in-law Harsimrat Kaur Badal, have also entered the world of politics. — PTI
