New Delhi: In 2007, when Parkash Singh Badal was vying to be Chief Minister of Punjab for the fourth time in his career, a reporter asked him if his age was an impediment. "Bhaj ke dhikawan?" (Should I run and show you?) he quipped in response. This, perhaps, sums up the never-say-die spirit of the five-time Punjab CM, affectionately known as 'Baba' among dedicated party workers.
It is, perhaps, due to his stature that spared him from personal attacks during a highly-charged political campaign in 2017. Most of the attacks by opponents were directed at his son and Punjab Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal, Sukhbir's wife Harsimrat Kaur and his brother-in-law Bikram Singh Majithia. Even Badal senior's most bitter critics grudgingly admit that he is a “man of the people". In that, says Kumar, Badal is comparable to Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav. "Both Badal and Yadav are sons of the soil. Both have spent years touring villages in their respective states and have deep bonds with local party workers, down to the booth level. Their sons, Sukhbir and Akhilesh, may have inherited their political legacies, but they don't have the same kind of connect. Nobody can deny that Badal's is firmly rooted in the Punjabi hinterland."
The biggest poll issue in Punjab this year was the drug menace. According to an affidavit filed by the state's Department of Social Security, over 16% of the state's population was struggling with drug addiction. Both the AAP and the Congress promised a 'nasha-mukt Punjab' (Drug-free Punjab). The state government's response, however, was to live in denial. When asked about the drug menace, Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal said "only 0.06%" of Punjab's 2.77 crore people were drug addicts. He hit out at Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal for "defaming" Punjab.
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