Chandigarh: With filing his nomination from his home turf Lambi on Monday, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patriarch Parkash Singh Badal, 94, has notched yet another distinction for himself for being the oldest candidate in the fray.
The SAD supremo Badal Sr has a record of being an 11-time legislator and five-time chief minister. He hopes to retain his Lambi seat for the sixth consecutive time.
Notably, the SAD who is headed by his son and former deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal had not announced the former’s candidature till near the February 1 deadline of filing papers as Badal Sr had tested Covid-positive on January 20. However, defying age, he had begun his campaign since mid-December but had to stop it after he tested positive for Covid. The nonagenarian Badal not only defeated the virus but is back in the constituency after getting discharged from the hospital five days ago.
After filing papers, he told newspersons that elections to him were routine given his 75 years in public life and that he was confident of his win. He said he did not see any challenge from the rivals as he had people’s support.
While it is his 13th contest since he won Malout seat in undivided Punjab in 1957, he set a record by becoming the youngest chief minister in 1970. He has been chief minister for a record five times, since. And he has also been the state’s oldest chief minister as he was sworn as one at the age of 84 in 2012.
An Akali stalwart Badal Sr began his political career as the sarpanch of the village Badal in 1947 and won Malout seat in 1957 as a Congress candidate in undivided Punjab. However, after the bifurcation of Punjab when Haryana was carved out of it in 1966, he contested his election as Akali Das Sant Fateh Singh group candidate though was defeated by Congress’ Harcharan Singh Brar. This was Badal’s only defeat. He has since 1969 contested as SAD candidate and won.
He won from Gidderbaha seat five times in a row since 1965 and Lambi for as many times since 1997. He had also defeated the then Congress chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh in 2017 in Lambi by about 22,000 votes.
This time, he is pitted against greenhorns in Lambi, a predominantly rural seat - Gurmeet Singh Khuddian (Aam Aadmi Party), Jagpal Singh Abul Khurana (Congress), and Rakesh Dhingra (BJP) – who are first-timers.
