Sukhbir Singh Badal (born 9 July 1962) is an Indian politician and the president of Shiromani Akali Dal, and is currently a member of Parliament from the Firozpur. He served as Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab from 2009 to 2017. He is the son of Parkash Singh Badal, who has served several times as Chief Minister of Punjab. Badal and his family have ownership stakes in an array of businesses.

Early life and education

Sukhbir Badal was born on 9 July 1962 in Dhillon jatt family at Faridkot. His mother's name is Surinder Kaur. Initially, he was educated at The Lawrence School, Sanawar. He completed an M.A. Hons. School in Economics from Panjab University Chandigarh from 1980 to 1984 and an M.B.A. from California State University, Los Angeles.

Political career

Sukhbir Singh Badal was a member of the

11th 11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables. Name "Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first attested i ...

and

12th Lok Sabha This is the list of members of the 12th Lok Sabha, (10 March 1998 – 26 April 1999) after the 1998 Indian general election held during February–March 1998. This was the second consecutive Lok Sabha, like the 11th Lok Sabha elections that d ...

, representing Faridkot. He was Union Minister of State for Industry in

Second Vajpayee Ministry Atal Bihari Vajpayee was sworn in as Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Minist ...

during 1998 to 1999. He was also a member of Rajya Sabha during 2001 to 2004. In 2004, he was re-elected from Faridkot for

14th Lok Sabha The 14th Lok Sabha (17 May 2004 – 18 May 2009) was convened after the 2004 Indian general election held in four phases during 20 April – 10 May 2004, which led to the formation of first Manmohan Singh ministry (2004–2009). Indian Nationa ...

. He became the President of Akali Dal in January 2008. A year later in January 2009, he was sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab. He was not the Member of Punjab Vidhan Sabha at that time. He resigned in July 2009, upon the completion of six-month period available for contesting elections for the assembly, during which he didn't contest any elections. He was again appointed Deputy Chief Minister in August 2009 after winning by-elections from Jalalabad Assembly constituency.

2012 Punjab elections

Akali Dal-BJP combined secured victory in the 2012 Punjab elections, beating anti-incumbency for the first time in Punjab. Sukhbir was re-elected from Jalalabad and remained Deputy Chief Minister.

2022 Punjab Assembly election

Badal was the president of Akali Dal during the

2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election Legislative Assembly elections were held in Punjab on 20 February 2022 to elect the 117 members of the 16th Assembly of the Punjab Legislative Assembly. The votes were counted and the results were declared on 10 March 2022. The Aam Aadmi P ...

. Badal contested from the Jalalabad Assembly constituency and lost the election to

Jagdeep Kamboj Goldy Jagdeep Kamboj Goldy is an Indian politician and the MLA representing the Jalalabad, Punjab Assembly constituency in the Punjab Legislative Assembly. He is a member of the Aam Aadmi Party. He was elected as the MLA in the 2022 Punjab Legislativ ...

Aam Aadmi Party The Aam Aadmi Party (; AAP) is a political party in India, as one of the national political parties. The AAP was founded in November 2012 by Arvind Kejriwal and his then-companions following the 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement, popular ...

. Badal lost by a margin of 30,374 Votes. SAD BSP alliance contested in all 117 seats, and won 3 seats. SAD finished on third spot behind AAP and INC.

Business career and allegations

Badal and his family have direct or indirect interests in any array of businesses. He has been accused of running the state like a "private limited company". Badal holds a majority stake in the Punjabi language PTC television network. Badal and his family are also major stakeholders in Orbit Aviation, Dabwali Transport, Indo-Canadian Transport Company, Metro Eco Green Resorts, Saanjh Foundation, Falcon Properties, and Orbit Resorts. He has been accused of enriching private transport companies, which he has a stake in, while the state transport department has deteriorated. The Oberoi Sukhvilas Spa Resort in

New Chandigarh New Chandigarh is a new planned smart city near Mullanpur in the Mohali district (SAS Nagar) in Punjab, India. It has been designed as an extension of the city of Chandigarh. It is developed by the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority. A ...

is owned by and named after Sukhbir Badal.

Opinion

Opinion polls and exit polls

In March 2022, Badal said that the opinion polls and

exit poll An election exit poll is a poll of voters taken immediately after they have exited the polling stations. A similar poll conducted before actual voters have voted is called an entrance poll. Pollsters – usually private companies working for n ...

s should be banned in India. He claimed that the political parties get the opinion polls done after paying money. He was speaking after most of the Exit poll agencies predicted unanimously that the

will win with a large majority in the

Personal life

He married Harsimrat Kaur Badal on 21 November 1991. She is also a politician and presently Member of Parliament of India from

Bathinda Lok Sabha constituency Bathinda Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 13 Lok Sabha (parliamentary) constituencies of Punjab state in northern India. In 17th Lokh Sabh, it is represented by Harsimart Kaur Badal. She has been representing Bathinda Lok Sabha Constitu ...

since 2009 and was the union food processing minister under Prime Minister Narendra Modi until 17 May 2020. His mother Surinder Kaur died on 24 May 2011 from throat and

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

PGIMER Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) is a public medical university in Chandigarh, India. It is an 'Institute of National Importance'. It has educational, medical research, and training facilities for its studen ...

, Chandigarh. His son Anantbir Singh Badal made his first political appearance in 2019 before Indian general election.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Badal, Sukhbir Singh 1962 births Living people People from Faridkot, Punjab Punjabi people Shiromani Akali Dal politicians State cabinet ministers of Punjab, India Deputy chief ministers of Punjab, India Rajya Sabha members from Punjab, India India MPs 1996–1997 India MPs 1998–1999 India MPs 2004–2009 India MPs 2019–present Punjab, India MLAs 2007–2012 Punjab, India MLAs 2012–2017 Indian Sikhs California State University, Los Angeles alumni Panjab University alumni Lawrence School, Sanawar alumni Lok Sabha members from Punjab, India People from Sri Muktsar Sahib Punjab, India MLAs 2017–2022 Home Ministers of Punjab, India