Parkash Singh Badal, former Punjab CM passed away on Tuesday

Parkash Singh Badal, former Punjab CM passed away on Tuesday in a private hospital in Mohali, near Chandigarh. The current news is Badal had been in the hospital for quite a few days and had been experiencing respiratory problems. He had been the founder of the acclaimed political outfit Shiromani Akali Dal, which emerged as an alternate political outfit to the Congress in the state of Punjab.

Life and Times of Parkash Singh Badal

Parkash Singh Badal had an illustrious political career that spanned over 7 decades in which he had lost an Assembly election only twice. His wife, Surinder Kaur Badal died of cancer in May 2011. Parkash Singh Badal was born in Punjab’s Abul Khurana close to the Rajasthan border and studied at Lahore’s Forman Christian College. Badal’s mortal remains will be placed at the SAD head office in Chandigarh from 10 am to 12 noon on Wednesday. Thereafter, the mortal remains will be taken to Badal village in Muktsar district to be cremated on Saturday.

Badal was 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, son of late MP Jagdev Singh Khudian. This was Badal’s 13th Assembly election. After the election results, Badal was hardly politically active in the area. Though he had started his Thanksgiving tour in Lambi, it too was canceled midway. Thereafter, he either spent time at his residences in Badal village and at Chandigarh farmhouse in Balasar village in Haryana.

Badal has created many records in the past. He was the youngest sarpanch when got elected from Badal village in 1952. Besides, he became the youngest CM of the state in 1970. Further, he became the oldest CM in 2012. He has also a record of becoming the CM for five times from 1970-71, 1977-80, 1997-2002, 2007-12 and 2012-17. Besides, he has remained a member of Lok Sabha once and served as Union Agriculture Minister for a short stint as well.

Condolences pouring in for Parkash Singh Badal

Eminent political personalities including Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid his respects to the great leader and termed it as a personal loss. Rahul Gandhi and other eminent Congress party members also paid their respects to the departed leader over social network platforms as well.

Badal is survived by a son and SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and a daughter Parneet Kaur, who is married to former cabinet minister Adeish Partap Singh Kairon. The Punjab government had declared a public holiday on April 27^th in honor of the 5-time CM of Punjab, who passed away at the age of 95.