Badal to be Chief Minister, swearing-in on March 14
This will be Badal Sr’s 5th term in office
Chandigarh, March 9
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) supremo Parkash Singh Badal is all set to be sworn in as Punjab CM for a historic fifth term on March 14 with the SAD-BJP alliance today unanimously electing him as its legislature party leader. The swearing-in would take place at the Banda Bahadur Memorial at Chhapar Chiri and several top BJP leaders are expected to attend.
After unanimously being elected leader of the SAD Legislature Party yesterday, Badal Senior was BJP-SAD legislators’ unanimous choice to be leader of the Vidhan Sabha today.
SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal told The Tribune, “Badal Sahib will remain Chief Minister for as long as he wishes. He is the party’s senior-most leader whose contribution to the state and the party is unparalleled.”
As Parkash Singh Badal prepares to take over the reigns of the government for the fifth time, there is pressure on him and SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal from various quarters to induct certain legislators in his Cabinet.
Though firmly in control, the SAD leadership has so far showed no signs that it will succumb to either the “drug mafia” or the “sand mafia” or even “landgrabbers”. On the contrary, Sukhbir Badal has announced that his first priority will be to rid the state of corruption. The party thinktank is identifying legislators whose induction in the Cabinet will improve the party image after the splendid victory.
The biggest task for the alliance is to identify a person who can take the state out of the fiscal mess. There is hardly anyone who fits the bill. There is talk that SAD president, who will also be the Deputy CM, may keep this portfolio with himself for the moment.
Those likely be find place in the Cabinet are Janmeja Singh Sekhon (Maur), Tota Singh (Dharamkot), Sikandar Singh Maluka (Rampura Phul), Adesh Partap (Patti), Bikram Majithia (Majitha), Gulzar Singh Ranike (Attari), Gurbachan Singh Babbehali (Gurdaspur), Sohan Singh Thandal (Chabbewal), Surjit Singh Rakhra (Samana), Parminder Dhindsa ( Sunam), Ajit Singh Kohar (Shahkot), Jagir Kaur (Bholath), Swarn Singh Phillaur (Kartarpur), Sharanjit Dhillon (Sahnewal) and Harmit Singh Sandhu (Tarn Taran).
The BJP, which has 12 seats, is expected to see a drop in the number of its ministers, unless Badal gets magnanimous. In the last Vidhan Sabha, the BJP had 19 legislators, so it had five ministers. Now the number could be 3 or 4. Chuni Lal Bhagat (Jalandhar West), Madan Mohan Mittal (Anandpur Sahib), Surjit Kumar Jyani (Fazilka), Manoranjan Kalia (Jalandhar Central), Amarjit Shahi (Dasuya) and Navjot Kaur Sidhu (Amritsar East) are among the BJP MLAs who may get a place in the Cabinet.
Not all will get Cabinet ranks. Some will be attached to senior ministers. Some will be adjusted as Parliamentary Secretaries or chairpersons of boards and corporations.
Youth brigade did it for Akalis, won 11 seats
Chandigarh, March 9
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) secured the youth vote with 11 of its 13 candidates turning victorious at the hustings. In comparison, the Congress bagged only two of the six seats allotted to its youth members.
Six young Akali candidates won in the Majha belt - Youth SAD chief Bikram Majithia (Majitha), Inderbir Bolaria (Amritsar South), Amarpal Bonny (Ajnala), Manjit S Manna (Baba Bakala), Bajit S Jalalusma (Jandiala) and Harmeet Singh (Tarn Taran). In the Doaba belt, Pawan Kumar Teenu was victorious from Adampur. In Malwa,Virender Kaur Loomba (Shutrana), Harpreet Singh (Malout), Parminder Dhindsa (Sunam) and Manpreet Ayali (Dakha) emerged winners.
Remarkably, most of the Youth SAD candidates won their seats with respectable margins. Several downed Congress stalwarts: Jalalusma defeated former Excise Minister Sardool Singh, Ayali defeated Jassi Khangura and Bolaria defeated Jasbir Singh Dimpa.
The Congress was able to win only two of the six seats allotted to its Youth Congress members- Kuljit Nagra from Fatehgarh Sahib and Raja Waring from Gidderabaha.The party’s young candidates were defeated in Ferozepur Rural, Payal, Balachaur and Majitha.
There seems to be two factors behind the success of young SAD candidates. One, most of them were groomed by SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal during 2002-2007 when the SAD-BJP was in Opposition.
Second, Youth SAD president Bikram Majithia energised the youth wing holding district-level meetings and roadshows during the last one year. Majithia supervised the campaign of the youth wing leaders in Majha besides campaigning for those in Doaba and Malwa.
The Punjab Youth Congress could not be energised with its state president Vikramjit Chaudhary busy campaigning for his father Chaudhary Santokh in Phillaur.The Congress could not win this seat.
The SAD empowered its youth leaders with Parambans Romana appointed Improvement Trust Chairman in Faridkot, Kanwarjit Barkandi as District Cooperative Bank Chairman at Muktsar and Manpreet Ayali as Zila Parishad Chairman in Ludhiana. These appointments were a game changer for the SAD and ensured the youth vote did not shift to the PPP in a big way.
Chandigarh: From village sarpanch to the youngest woman legislator from Bhoa in Pathankot. This sums up the political journey of 33-year-old Seema Kumari of the BJP who has maid her maiden entry into the Punjab Legislative Assembly. She was 29 when she was elected sarpanch of Bharial Lahri village in Pathankot during the last panchayat elections. Her husband is a district BJP leader. She believes that one does not necessarily need to go to a school or a college. “I understand the needs and requirements of my electorate as I am a grassroots worker,” she says. She routed her nearest rival Balbir Ram of the Congress, by 12,129 votes, a testimony to her claim. She is sure to provide a new dimension to Dalit politics in state. “I am aware that my constituency lacks development. I need to start from the scratch. One just needs a strong will and consistency to see one’s efforts bear fruit,” she says. A mother of two, she says being a mother makes her sensitive to the needs of others.
Amritsar: Inderbir Singh Bolaria is the youngest legislator in the assembly. He already has his priorities outlined for the next five years. Bolaria, who was Chief Parliamentary Secretary in the previous government, says:
“It feels great to be re-elected. I feel blessed that I have got an opportunity to serve the people so early in life.” Regarding his success mantra, he says : “We didn’t merely talk about development, but worked on the ground to bring about a change in people’s lives. We ensured that every penny was properly utilised.”
He says he will finish pending works like removal of the Bhagtanwala garbage dump, setting up a solid waste management plant and having a sewerage system in the remaining parts of the constituency.
The young Bolaria intends to build a multi-utility sports stadium and come down heavily on drug peddlers. “Anybody found luring youth to drugs will not be spared.”
Moga: March 9 Riding on the legacy of her father-in-law, young Rajwinder Kaur defeated sitting MLA Ajit Singh Shant of the Cong by 572 votes. She is the second youngest candidate in the assembly.
Rajwinder is a new entrant in politics. Her father-in-law, the late Zora Singh, was a local Akali leader. He was elected to the assembly twice in 1985 and 2002 from this constituency. Rajwinder hails from Kairon village in Taran Taran. She did her plus two from Kairon High School. Her parents enjoyed cordial ties with the family of the late Chief Minister Partap Singh Kairon. After marriage, she joined the village ‘anganwari’ as a worker. Her husband Ajmer Singh is Panchayat Secretary. She has two daughters and a son.
Muktsar: Except for Amrinder Singh Warring “Raja” and a few Congress men, none would have thought that the Congress would emerge winner in the once Akali stronghold-Gidderbaha, defeating former Akali Finance Minister and now PPP chief Manpreet Singh Badal, who came third. An elated Raja Warring, who is close to AICC general secretary Rahul
Gandhi, says: “I belong to an ordinary family and none from my family has
ever contested the elections. I started my political journey after becoming
president of DCC and never looked back.”
Raja, who is a good orator, says Manpreet was once popular with the people but he failed on all fronts in the past five years. “He could not even solve the problem of water-logging in the area and the people realised it was time to vote for a new face.”
Muktsar: This 33-year-old civil engineer, son of a former minister, started his political career in 2007, when he was elected MLA from Malout.
This time he defeated two former Congress MLAs -Nathu Ram and Baldev Singh Ballamgarh, a Congress rebel who contested as an Independent.
Harpreet Singh credits the late Bibi Surinder Kaur Badal, CM’s wife, for his success in politics.
“During campaigning, development was the lone agenda. The people understood it as they had seen Bibi ji’s keen interest in Malout. So, they voted in SAD’s favour. I will request Badal Sahib to allot more funds to this area so that I can fulfill Bibiji’s dream ,” says Harpreet.
He says the local people have two major demands - an under-bridge and a drainage line. “These two issues top my agenda. ”
High expectations from SAD-BJP’s second term
What a cross-section of people want from the new government. This is what they had to say
Chandigarh, March 9
This will be Badal Sr’s 5th term in office
 |
| Sukhbir hugs his father Parkash S. Badal after the latter was elected leader of the SAD-BJP alliance. |
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) supremo Parkash Singh Badal is all set to be sworn in as Punjab CM for a historic fifth term on March 14 with the SAD-BJP alliance today unanimously electing him as its legislature party leader. The swearing-in would take place at the Banda Bahadur Memorial at Chhapar Chiri and several top BJP leaders are expected to attend.
After unanimously being elected leader of the SAD Legislature Party yesterday, Badal Senior was BJP-SAD legislators’ unanimous choice to be leader of the Vidhan Sabha today.
SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal told The Tribune, “Badal Sahib will remain Chief Minister for as long as he wishes. He is the party’s senior-most leader whose contribution to the state and the party is unparalleled.”
Badal’s name was suggested by BJP observer Shanta Kumar and proposed by party state chief Ashwani Sharma. After it was seconded by Sukhbir and endorsed by BJPLegislature Party leader Bhagat Chunni Lal, others like Jathedar Tota Singh and Madan Mohan Mittal welcomed the decision with thunderous claps.
The Akali stalwart is the alliance’s choice to head the government for several reasons. First, this was an electoral promise made by the SAD. Secondly, with the party securing 56 seats and the support of three Independents besides 12 members of the BJP, the government is firmly in place for the next five years. So, Sukhbir is in no hurry to receive the baton from his father.
After an emotional Sukhbir hugged his father, Badal Senior took a moment to respond as his thoughts went back to his wife Surinder Kaur, who passed away last year. Quick to return to the present, Badal said, “I have no words to express my gratitude to all the MLAs who have given me this enormous responsibility.” His characteristic smile also returned.
When PS Badal took over as Chief Minister for the first time in 1969, he was the country’s youngest CM. When he would be sworn-in for a record fifth time on March 14, he will be the country’s oldest CM.
Talking about the SAD-BJP alliance, Badal said the relationship was very close to his heart. Despite either party’s performance, we will stay together through thick and thin, he said. Coming from Badal, a seasoned politician, the words were perhaps meant to assure the BJP that it had nothing to fear, even though the SAD could form a government on its own.
After the meeting, the Badals, Bhagat Chuni Lal, Ashwani Sharma and Shanta Kumar drove to the Punjab Raj Bhawan and handed over a copy of resolution electing Parkash Singh Badal as leader of the SAD-BJP Legislature Party to Governor Shivraj V Patil. The Governor has invited Badal to form the government in Punjab.
Lobbying on for Cabinet berths
Chandigarh, March 9
As Parkash Singh Badal prepares to take over the reigns of the government for the fifth time, there is pressure on him and SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal from various quarters to induct certain legislators in his Cabinet.
Though firmly in control, the SAD leadership has so far showed no signs that it will succumb to either the “drug mafia” or the “sand mafia” or even “landgrabbers”. On the contrary, Sukhbir Badal has announced that his first priority will be to rid the state of corruption. The party thinktank is identifying legislators whose induction in the Cabinet will improve the party image after the splendid victory.
The biggest task for the alliance is to identify a person who can take the state out of the fiscal mess. There is hardly anyone who fits the bill. There is talk that SAD president, who will also be the Deputy CM, may keep this portfolio with himself for the moment.
Those likely be find place in the Cabinet are Janmeja Singh Sekhon (Maur), Tota Singh (Dharamkot), Sikandar Singh Maluka (Rampura Phul), Adesh Partap (Patti), Bikram Majithia (Majitha), Gulzar Singh Ranike (Attari), Gurbachan Singh Babbehali (Gurdaspur), Sohan Singh Thandal (Chabbewal), Surjit Singh Rakhra (Samana), Parminder Dhindsa ( Sunam), Ajit Singh Kohar (Shahkot), Jagir Kaur (Bholath), Swarn Singh Phillaur (Kartarpur), Sharanjit Dhillon (Sahnewal) and Harmit Singh Sandhu (Tarn Taran).
The BJP, which has 12 seats, is expected to see a drop in the number of its ministers, unless Badal gets magnanimous. In the last Vidhan Sabha, the BJP had 19 legislators, so it had five ministers. Now the number could be 3 or 4. Chuni Lal Bhagat (Jalandhar West), Madan Mohan Mittal (Anandpur Sahib), Surjit Kumar Jyani (Fazilka), Manoranjan Kalia (Jalandhar Central), Amarjit Shahi (Dasuya) and Navjot Kaur Sidhu (Amritsar East) are among the BJP MLAs who may get a place in the Cabinet.
Not all will get Cabinet ranks. Some will be attached to senior ministers. Some will be adjusted as Parliamentary Secretaries or chairpersons of boards and corporations.
Youth brigade did it for Akalis, won 11 seats
Chandigarh, March 9The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) secured the youth vote with 11 of its 13 candidates turning victorious at the hustings. In comparison, the Congress bagged only two of the six seats allotted to its youth members.
Six young Akali candidates won in the Majha belt - Youth SAD chief Bikram Majithia (Majitha), Inderbir Bolaria (Amritsar South), Amarpal Bonny (Ajnala), Manjit S Manna (Baba Bakala), Bajit S Jalalusma (Jandiala) and Harmeet Singh (Tarn Taran). In the Doaba belt, Pawan Kumar Teenu was victorious from Adampur. In Malwa,Virender Kaur Loomba (Shutrana), Harpreet Singh (Malout), Parminder Dhindsa (Sunam) and Manpreet Ayali (Dakha) emerged winners.
Remarkably, most of the Youth SAD candidates won their seats with respectable margins. Several downed Congress stalwarts: Jalalusma defeated former Excise Minister Sardool Singh, Ayali defeated Jassi Khangura and Bolaria defeated Jasbir Singh Dimpa.
The Congress was able to win only two of the six seats allotted to its Youth Congress members- Kuljit Nagra from Fatehgarh Sahib and Raja Waring from Gidderabaha.The party’s young candidates were defeated in Ferozepur Rural, Payal, Balachaur and Majitha.
There seems to be two factors behind the success of young SAD candidates. One, most of them were groomed by SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal during 2002-2007 when the SAD-BJP was in Opposition.
Second, Youth SAD president Bikram Majithia energised the youth wing holding district-level meetings and roadshows during the last one year. Majithia supervised the campaign of the youth wing leaders in Majha besides campaigning for those in Doaba and Malwa.
The Punjab Youth Congress could not be energised with its state president Vikramjit Chaudhary busy campaigning for his father Chaudhary Santokh in Phillaur.The Congress could not win this seat.
The SAD empowered its youth leaders with Parambans Romana appointed Improvement Trust Chairman in Faridkot, Kanwarjit Barkandi as District Cooperative Bank Chairman at Muktsar and Manpreet Ayali as Zila Parishad Chairman in Ludhiana. These appointments were a game changer for the SAD and ensured the youth vote did not shift to the PPP in a big way.
Game Changer: FACTORS BEHIND SUCCESS
- Most of the young Akali candidates were groomed by SAD chief Sukhbir Badal during 2002-2007 when the SAD-BJP alliance was in the Opposition
- Bikram Majithia energised the Akali youth wing holding district-level meetings and several roadshows in the past one year
- SAD empowered its youth leaders with Parambans Romana appointed Improvement Trust chief in Faridkot, Kanwarjit Barkandi as District Coop Bank chief at Muktsar and Manpreet Ayali as Zila Parishad chief in Ludhiana. So the youth voted for the SAD.
SEEMA KUMARI (33) Bhoa
Chandigarh: From village sarpanch to the youngest woman legislator from Bhoa in Pathankot. This sums up the political journey of 33-year-old Seema Kumari of the BJP who has maid her maiden entry into the Punjab Legislative Assembly. She was 29 when she was elected sarpanch of Bharial Lahri village in Pathankot during the last panchayat elections. Her husband is a district BJP leader. She believes that one does not necessarily need to go to a school or a college. “I understand the needs and requirements of my electorate as I am a grassroots worker,” she says. She routed her nearest rival Balbir Ram of the Congress, by 12,129 votes, a testimony to her claim. She is sure to provide a new dimension to Dalit politics in state. “I am aware that my constituency lacks development. I need to start from the scratch. One just needs a strong will and consistency to see one’s efforts bear fruit,” she says. A mother of two, she says being a mother makes her sensitive to the needs of others.IS BOLARIA (31), Amritsar South
Amritsar: Inderbir Singh Bolaria is the youngest legislator in the assembly. He already has his priorities outlined for the next five years. Bolaria, who was Chief Parliamentary Secretary in the previous government, says:“It feels great to be re-elected. I feel blessed that I have got an opportunity to serve the people so early in life.” Regarding his success mantra, he says : “We didn’t merely talk about development, but worked on the ground to bring about a change in people’s lives. We ensured that every penny was properly utilised.”
He says he will finish pending works like removal of the Bhagtanwala garbage dump, setting up a solid waste management plant and having a sewerage system in the remaining parts of the constituency.
The young Bolaria intends to build a multi-utility sports stadium and come down heavily on drug peddlers. “Anybody found luring youth to drugs will not be spared.”
RAJWINDER (34), NIHALSINGHWALA
Moga: March 9 Riding on the legacy of her father-in-law, young Rajwinder Kaur defeated sitting MLA Ajit Singh Shant of the Cong by 572 votes. She is the second youngest candidate in the assembly.Rajwinder is a new entrant in politics. Her father-in-law, the late Zora Singh, was a local Akali leader. He was elected to the assembly twice in 1985 and 2002 from this constituency. Rajwinder hails from Kairon village in Taran Taran. She did her plus two from Kairon High School. Her parents enjoyed cordial ties with the family of the late Chief Minister Partap Singh Kairon. After marriage, she joined the village ‘anganwari’ as a worker. Her husband Ajmer Singh is Panchayat Secretary. She has two daughters and a son.
RAJA WARRING, (33), GIDDERBAHA
Muktsar: Except for Amrinder Singh Warring “Raja” and a few Congress men, none would have thought that the Congress would emerge winner in the once Akali stronghold-Gidderbaha, defeating former Akali Finance Minister and now PPP chief Manpreet Singh Badal, who came third. An elated Raja Warring, who is close to AICC general secretary RahulGandhi, says: “I belong to an ordinary family and none from my family has
ever contested the elections. I started my political journey after becoming
president of DCC and never looked back.”
Raja, who is a good orator, says Manpreet was once popular with the people but he failed on all fronts in the past five years. “He could not even solve the problem of water-logging in the area and the people realised it was time to vote for a new face.”
HARPREET Singh (33), MALOUT
Muktsar: This 33-year-old civil engineer, son of a former minister, started his political career in 2007, when he was elected MLA from Malout.This time he defeated two former Congress MLAs -Nathu Ram and Baldev Singh Ballamgarh, a Congress rebel who contested as an Independent.
Harpreet Singh credits the late Bibi Surinder Kaur Badal, CM’s wife, for his success in politics.
“During campaigning, development was the lone agenda. The people understood it as they had seen Bibi ji’s keen interest in Malout. So, they voted in SAD’s favour. I will request Badal Sahib to allot more funds to this area so that I can fulfill Bibiji’s dream ,” says Harpreet.
He says the local people have two major demands - an under-bridge and a drainage line. “These two issues top my agenda. ”
High expectations from SAD-BJP’s second term
What a cross-section of people want from the new government. This is what they had to say
Pargat Singh, who has won the Jalandhar Cantt seat for the SAD, is the first- ever Olympian in the history of post-Partition Punjab to be elected to the assembly. He quit his job as Director of Sports to enter electoral politics.
Pargat Singh also has the distinction of leading India in two consecutive Olympic Games. After resigning as Director of Sports on January 10, he had only 18 days to campaign in his constituency where his rival was well- entrenched. But he took up the challenge and turned victorious.
His father-in-law Darbara Singh represented the SAD in Parliament. He was Governor of Rajasthan when he died.
At one time, Pargat Singh was in the race for the Congress ticket for the Jalandhar parliamentary seat. But he lost out to Rana Gurjit Singh.
Pargat Singh held the rank of Superintendent of Police before he was absorbed as Director of Sports a month before the announcement of the assembly elections in December last year.
Pargat Singh made his way into the inner circle of SAD chief and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal after he played a pivotal role in holding the two Kabaddi World Cups and in creating sports infrasture, including floodlit synthetic hockey fields.
Even if Pargat Singh had continued in the Police Department, he would have retired at best as Deputy Inspector-General of Police. That may be one reason why he left the police to join the Sports Department.
For a newcomer, a victory margin of 6,707 votes is an impressive one. Only a couple of months ago Pargat Singh had decided to make Chandigarh his permanent home.
In view of his popularity among the youth and sportspersons, he seems to be a natural choice for appointment as Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs.
The only other hockey Olympian to have achieved success in electoral politics has been Aslam Sher Khan who entered Parliament from Madhya Pradesh. Test cricket players like Chetan Chauhan, Kirti Azad, Navjot Sidhu and Mohammed Azharuddin have been elected to the Lok Sabha.
Moga, March 9
Former DGP Paramdeep Singh Gill, who was handpicked by SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal to contest from the Moga assembly constituency, had to face defeat primarily because of the PPP factor.
Former DGP Paramdeep Singh Gill, who was handpicked by SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal to contest from the Moga assembly constituency, had to face defeat primarily because of the PPP factor.
Ravinder Dhaliwal, PPP candidate, secured 9,910 votes and Gill lost at the hands of sitting Congress MLA Joginder Pal Jain by a margin of 4,625 votes. Clearly, Gill’s poll strategists underestimated the PPP’s potential to play spoiler.
Also, the Congress managed to quell rebellion in the Moga constituency with Vijay Sathi retiring from the contest in favour of Jain a few days before the polls. This helped the Congress win this seat.
NRI Sabha Canada urges the new Chief Minister of Punajb that NRI brothers and sisters are hopeful that new government will safeguard the their interests and will make sure that their issues and concerns will heard and resolved at priority basis.
ReplyDeleteNRI Sabha, Canada wishes very good luck to Shri Prakash Singh Badal.