Parkash Singh Badal: Leader who evaded confrontation

Jupinderjit Singh

Chandigarh, April 26

SAD patriarch Parkash Singh Badal, who breathed his last on Tuesday, rose from a simple party worker to become five-time Chief Minister on the basis of his political acumen and qualities.

In this process, he out-ran several stalwart Akali leaders like Gurcharan Singh Tohra, Harchand Singh Longowal and Jagdev Singh Talwandi.

Historian Jagtar Singh said what stood out about Badal was his perseverance and patience. “He knew when to bide for his time and strike when the opportunity presented itself.”

Jagtar Singh said, “Badal would never get into a confrontation and would go with the flow.” Citing an example, he said Badal started his political career with the Akali Dal, a Panth-based party. He, along with Simranjit Mann and Gurcharan Singh Tohra, signed a memorandum in 1992 for the demand of Khalistan. “However, in 1996, he turned towards Punjabiyat and got non-Sikhs into the party, which helped him gain acceptance among politicians. He even stitched an alliance with the BJP to promote communal harmony,” Jagtar Singh added.

Also, when Badal was rising in the Akali Dal ranks, the party was divided into factions. Badal’s contribution was to unite all factions. Then he centralised power by controlling the SGPC.

This made the Badal family strong in the Akali Dal. This, Jagtar says, proved profitable politically for several decades, but also turned out to be the cause of the biggest electoral loss in the fag end of his life.

Gurdarshan Singh Bahia, who worked in media teams of Tohra and Badal, said Badal was a man of political humility, who would never let a leader or even a small worker sulk for long. When he was a young leader among many stalwarts like Sant Chanan Singh and others, Badal remained close to them. “The Akali Dal was a party of peasants who were not rich. Badal would often offer his car to top leaders of different factions and even drove them around. His friendliness made him a consensus candidate in many crisis situations, including when he first became the CM in 1970.”

Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, who worked with him, said Badal’s greatest quality was his ability to connect with people beyond his party’s followers.

SOME OF HIS POPULIST SCHEMES

FREE POWER: He led SAD-BJP to power in 1997 and announced free power to farmers

ATTA-DAL: Introduced ‘Atta-Dal’ scheme for the poor & Shagun scheme for ST women

SANGAT DARSHAN Would hear grievances of people and try to resolve these on the spot

PENSION SCHEME Was for women above 58 & men above 65 with annual income under Rs 60,000

TIRATH YATRA YOJANA Govt bore travel expenses of pilgrims to religious sites across India

CYCLE SCHEME Aimed at providing a comfortable travel to the female students in the state