From being the youngest sarpanch to five-time Chief Minister, and that too the oldest, Parkash Singh Badal on Tuesday breathed his last after a brief illness at the age of 95. His political career, spanning over seven decades, and longest political era in the country’s history came to an end as the Akali patriarch virtually left a vacuum in both the Centre and Punjab politics.
Badal, a towering leader who commanded respect across the states and across the party lines, died at Fortis Hospital, Mohali. The end came on Tuesday evening, 11 days after he was admitted in the hospital with breathing difficulty.
Badal, with his over 75-year political journey, was among the few regional political lords who had been key decision-makers in the national politics. Having won elections to the Punjab Assembly 11 times, Badal held the rare record of not having lost a poll since his second electoral victory in 1967 till 2022 — his last assembly polls. He was the Chief Minister of the state five times.
Badal was hospitalized for the past few days and was suffering from breathing problem. He is survived by son and SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and daughter Parneet Kaur, who is married to former Cabinet Minister Adeish Partap Singh Kairon — son of former Chief Minister Partap Singh Kairon. Badal’s wife Surinder Kaur had died due to cancer in May 2011.
The media bulletin released by the Fortis Hospital said: “S Parkash Singh Badal, Former Chief Minister of Punjab, was admitted at Fortis Hospital Mohali on April 16, 2023, with acute exacerbation of bronchial asthma. He was shifted to the medical ICU on April 18 as his respiratory condition worsened. He had been on NIV (noninvasive ventilation) and HFNC (High-flow nasal cannula) support along with medical management. He was being managed under Prof (Dr) Digambar Behera along with the Pulmonology and critical care team supported by Cardiology.”
“Despite appropriate medical management, S Parkash Singh Badal succumbed to his illness. Fortis Hospital Mohali deeply condoles the death of S Parkash Singh Badal,” it added.
Starting his political journey in 1947, Badal has been the sarpanch (village head) of his native Badal village, and went on to become the Lambi Block Samiti chairman before rising into the state politics. At the age of 27, he became the “youngest sarpanch” when got elected from Badal village in 1952.
During his five terms as the Chief Minister of the border state, he has the distinction of being the youngest CM of the state during his first term in 1970 at the age of 42. He also became the oldest Chief Minister, at the age of 84, in 2012 — his fifth term.
Badal has the record of becoming the Chief Minister for five times — 1970-71, 1977-80, 1997-2002, 2007-12, and 2012-17. Besides, he has remained member of the Lok Sabha once, and even served as the Union Agriculture and Irrigation Minister for a short stint in Prime Minister Morarji Desai’s government in 1977.
Akali veteran was also the oldest candidate in the electoral fray in the country in the state elections in 2022, but lost to AAP’s first-timer Gurmeet Singh Khudian. This was Badal’s 13th Assembly election.
Having lost the elections after winning 10 in a row, Badal was hardly politically active in the area — mainly due to his deteriorating health. Even his candidature for 2022 elections was withheld till the last moment, reportedly due to his poor health conditions. At one time, it was believed that the senior Badal may hang up his boots and would not enter the electoral arena.
After the defeat, Badal had started his thanksgiving tour in Lambi, which were also cancelled midway. Thereafter, he either spent time at his residences at Badal village and Chandigarh farmhouse at Balasar village in Haryana.
During his long illustrious political journey, Badal has lost just two Assembly elections — first to Harcharan Singh Brar from Gidderbaha in 1967 by 11,396 votes; and thereafter in 2022 to Gurmeet Singh Khudian from Lambi in 2022.
He won the first Assembly election before the reorganization of Punjab from Malout constituency in 1957 on the ticket of Indian National Congress (INC). He was re-elected in 1969, serving as Minister for Community Development, Panchayati Raj, Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries.
He had been elected in Punjab Vidhan Sabha for a total of 10 times — in 1957 and in each election since 1969, except for the February 1992 election, in which he led a boycott of state elections by the Akalis. In 1997 elections he won from Lambi Assembly constituency and had been a consecutive winner in four terms. He won Assembly election five times in a row from Gidderbaha in 1969, 1972, 1977, 1980 and 1985; and thereafter won five times in a row in 1997, 2002, 2007, 2012 and 2017 from Lambi segment.
Badal did not contest just two Assembly elections in his political career, once in 1962 and thereafter in 1992 when the SAD had boycotted it.
Senior Badal was conferred with Padma Vibhushan in 2015, which he returned in 2020 in protest against the Centre’s three contentious farm laws. Besides, he was conferred with Panth Rattan Faqr-e-Qaum (Jewel of the Panth Pride of the Community) in 2011, but various Sikh organizations kept demanding that Badal be stripped of this title.
Among his career highlights include his role in the Green Revolution; his contribution to the state’s development; taking several pro-people initiatives like power subsidy, Atta-Dal, Shagun scheme,; besides his efforts to bring peace to the state.
During his first term as the Chief Minister in the 1970s, Badal introduced new agricultural techniques and encouraged farmers to adopt modern farming practices which led to a significant increase in agricultural productivity turning Punjab into the country's breadbasket.
Badal, as the Chief Minister, also focused on improving the state's infrastructure, education, and healthcare facilities; and initiated several projects to improve the road network, built new schools and colleges, and established medical colleges and hospitals.
“Extremely saddened by the passing away of Shri Parkash Singh Badal Ji. He was a colossal figure of Indian politics, and a remarkable statesman who contributed greatly to our nation. He worked tirelessly for the progress of Punjab and anchored the state through critical times… His passing away is a personal loss for me. I have interacted closely with him for many decades and learnt so much from him. I recall our numerous conversations, in which his wisdom was always clearly seen”
— Prime Minister Narendra Modi
“He was an able administrator and above all a fine human being with qualities of head and heart”
— Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann
“The demise of Parkash Singh Badal is an irreparable loss to Indian politics and his name is written in golden letters in the history of the country's politics…With his demise, an era of Indian politics has come to an end which had seen the making and changing of India from the independence till the 21st century. His goodwill and nature of gelling up with the common people used to establish him as a completely different politician”
— Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal
“Deeply saddened over the demise of S. Parkash Singh Badal. My profound condolences to @officeofssbadal and the entire family. Badal Sahab was respected by everyone cutting across party lines”
— former CM, BJP leader Capt Amarinder Singh
“S. Parkash Singh Badal ji was a veteran of Indian politics. Although we differed in our ideologies, he earned immense respect among the people of Punjab for his simplicity and loyalty to his cadre, as he served multiple terms as CM”
— Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge
“He was an institution in himself and inspired many generations of politicians. His contribution to Punjab and Punjabiyat will remain inspirational”
— Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring
