Sukhbir Singh Badal (born 9 July 1962) is an Indian politician and the president of

Shiromani Akali Dal The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) (translation: ''Supreme Akali Party'') is a centre-right sikh-centric state political party in Punjab, India. The party is the second-oldest in India, after Congress, being founded in 1920. Although there are man ...

, and is currently a member of Parliament from the

Firozpur Firozpur, also known as Ferozepur, is a city on the banks of the Sutlej River in Firozpur District, Punjab, India. After the partition of India in 1947, it became a border town on the India–Pakistan border with memorials to soldiers who ...

. He served as Deputy Chief Minister of

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

from 2009 to 2017. He is the son of

Parkash Singh Badal Parkash Singh Badal ( pa, ਪ੍ਰਕਾਸ਼ ਸਿੰਘ ਬਾਦਲ; born 8 December 1927) is an Indian politician who was Chief Minister of Punjab state from 1970 to 1971, from 1977 to 1980, from 1997 to 2002, and from 2007 to 2017. He ...

, 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 The Lawrence School, Sanawar, is the oldest Co-Ed boarding school in the world near Solan city. Established in 1847, its history, influence, and wealth have made it one of the most prestigious and oldest schools in Asia. It is located in the ...

. He completed an M.A. Hons. School in Economics from

Panjab University Panjab University (PU) is a collegiate public state university located in Chandigarh, Punjab. Funded through both State and Union governments, it is considered a state university. It traces its origins to the University of the Punjab in Laho ...

Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which a ...

from 1980 to 1984 and an M.B.A. from

California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public university in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degrees, 122 master's degrees, ...

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 atteste ...

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 for second time on 19 March 1998. Here is the list of ministers in his ministry. Council of ministers Cabinet ministers Ministers of State E ...

during 1998 to 1999. He was also a member of

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

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 Nation ...

. 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 The Punjab Legislative Assembly or the Punjab Vidhan Sabha is the unicameral legislature of the state of Punjab in India. The Sixteenth Punjab Legislative Assembly was constituted in March 2022. At present, it consists of 117 members, direct ...

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 of Aam Aadmi Party. 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 is owned by and named after Sukhbir Badal.

Opinion

Opinion polls and exit polls

In March 2022, Badal said that the

opinion poll An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll (although strictly a poll is an actual election) is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinion ...

s and exit polls 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 Aam Aadmi Party will win with a large majority in the

Personal life

He married

Harsimrat Kaur Badal Harsimrat Kaur Badal (born 25 July 1966) is an Indian politician and a former Union Cabinet Minister of Food Processing Industries in the Government of India and Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha from Bathinda. She is a member of Shiromani ...

on 21 November 1991. She is also a politician and presently Member of

Parliament of India The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the ...

from Bathinda Lok Sabha constituency since 2009 and was the union food processing minister under Prime Minister

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament fro ...

until 17 May 2020. His mother Surinder Kaur died on 24 May 2011 from

throat In vertebrate anatomy, the throat is the front part of the neck, internally positioned in front of the vertebrae. It contains the pharynx and larynx. An important section of it is the epiglottis, separating the esophagus from the trachea (windpip ...

and pancreatic cancer at PGIMER,

. 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