Tribune News Service
Bathinda, October 3
Former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal returned to Punjab’s political stage on Saturday when he addressed his first political rally in the state in over two years at the Thermal Ground in Bathinda.
Shiromani Akali Dal, which is looking to return to power after four years of sitting in the opposition, addressed farmers—the group that would likely have among the most significant impact in next year’s election—at a rally in Bathinda. The protest rally was held to protest the damage to cotton crops in Punjab’s Malwa region.
The senior Badal had last addressed a rally in Punjab when he campaigned for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, which sent both his son Sukhbir Badal and his daughter-in-law Harsimrat Kaur Badal to parliament.
He made his first political appearance after a hiatus of over two years at a rally organised by the Indian National Lok Dal in Jind that also saw leaders such as National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah attend it. The rally, organised to mark the mark the108th birth anniversary of former deputy prime minister Chaudhary Devi Lal, was seen by some political analysts as an attempt to rally non-BJP and non-Congress parties.
Bathinda is the Lok Sabha constituency of Harsimrat Kaur Badal.
The Akalis are allying with Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party for next year’s assembly elections.
Assembly elections for Punjab’s 117 seats are due early year.
SAD patron Parkash Badal takes to Punjab political stage for first time in two years
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