M A I N   N E W S

the campaign trail
Sukhbir Badal in the forefront as SAD’s non-playing captain
Sarbjit Dhaliwal & Ruchika M Khanna
Tribune News Service

Wanting a feel of how he is readying his team for the Lok Sabha polls in Punjab, we jostle our way through the crowd, mainly consisting of hefty Jathedars, to speak to him. He ushers us in into his Land Cruiser saying considering his line-up of meetings, we can talk to him while travelling all the way to Bathinda.

Multiple roles

If Sukhbir is among the busiest politicians in the state, it is for a good reason — as president of the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal, he dons many hats.

Besides selecting party candidates, he also deals with rebels within the party. He has also to deal with ruffled feathers within the party and the alliance partner, the BJP.

Then there are senior Akali leaders, who often feel slighted and have to be assuaged. And with his wife, Harsimrat Kaur Badal locked in a contest of her lifetime with his cousin Manpreet Singh Badal in Bathinda, he has the political honour of the family to protect.

In Amritsar, where former CM Amarinder Singh is facing BJP’s Arun Jaitley, he is in effect trying to stall the revival of the beleagured Congress in the state.

No wonder he ends up logging almost 500 km a day. "But when I see people flocking to me during my trips, I am invigorated," he claims.

On being quizzed about his style, he explains, “My opponents often mock me for travelling in a helicopter. It is a time-saving mode of transportation and saves other road users from unnecessary hassles.

“In view of the elections, travelling by air has been restricted and as of now, I am covering all parts of the state by road."

Though the rear seats of his plush Land Cruiser are certainly more comfortable, Sukhbir Badal quickly moves to the front seat. "I like to be at the forefront of everything," he jokes, as we settle down in his vehicle.

Private persona

After a usual political talk, we switch over to unravelling the private persona of Sukhbir. Still beaming at the party workers who wave at him as his SUV moves out of Dhindsa's long driveway, he agrees that his is a tough job.

In a lighter vein, he quips, “When I was a kid, my father would not know what class I was in or how old we were.

“Even now, he adores his grandchildren but does not know what school or college they are in" he says, explaining how exhausting politics is. Sukhbir’s father Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is known as a very painstaking politician.

"Often, as soon as I shift from my personal space into the public domain, my mind tells me to relax and smile. That's what is expected of me as a leader of the Akali party. Believe me, it has taken me years to perfect this art.

“Even at home, it's the same. Though I get up at 8.30 in the morning, I take some time to be myself. It's then that I am ready to be the person that the public wants me to be — smiling, calm and in control. I step out of my room and there are people waiting to catch my attention, so I shift to my ‘public persona’," he tells us.

We joke with him about his bulging waistline and he politely says, "I can’t help it. I am a vegetarian. Te vegetarian dee choice ki hundi hai — allu te paneer. Kha-kha ke mote hee hona hai. (A vegetarian has a limited choice in potatoes and cottage cheese that lead to weight gain).

“There is no time to exercise nor is there any fixed time to have meals. This erratic eating time too adds to my weight," he says.

At a fast pace, his cavalcade moves along the still-green wheat fields on the Sangrur-Bathinda highway. Sukhbir shows little inhibition in answering personal details.

His driver Jarnail successfully manoeuvres the SUV on a rough patch of the traffic-loaded pot-holed highway and the pilot ahead of it waves to the vehicles coming from the opposite direction.

Sukhbir says, "All this power and the paraphernalia attached to it does not have any effect on me. I have seen power all my life (referring to his father being a Chief Minister for five terms now). It matters only to those who see it for the first time.

“That's why it is important for me to get away from it — to be with myself for a while. Every three months, I must go out for a small break, with Harsimrat (his wife and Bathinda MP) and our three children. That is what unwinds me.

“Otherwise, I am planning and working till 2.30 am each day. Though CM sahib does not really approve of my holidaying abroad, it would be difficult for me to carry on his political legacy without these brief breathers," he says.

Family matters

“My wife Harsimrat is a deeply religious person. She spends a lot of time daily reciting Gurbani and holding ‘paths’ at various religious places. Every month, a ‘path’ is held at our place in New Delhi. We also organise a ‘path’ at the Golden Temple and I make it a point to be there with her,” he says.

On weekends, he says, he has to be in Delhi with his children. "I keep all my meetings and liaison work in Delhi on Saturday, so that I can spend quality time with them. Being a movie buff, the entire family, on Saturday evenings, goes for the latest movie that's been released.

Does he want either of his children to get into politics, we ask. "My elder daughter is very shy and does not want to enter politics. She is more academically inclined. But my son, yes, I want him to take on the mantle some day. He is more of a village boy and I think he has the potential to be a people's man," he says, adding that it’s still a long time before his son will take a final decision.