Can Manpreet Badal avenge his humiliation in Bathinda fighting Harsimrat Badal?

Thursday, 18/07/2013

http://www.punjabnewsline.com/news/can-manpreet-badal-avenge-his-humiliation-in-bathinda-fighting-harsimrat-badalij/82943

BATHINDA: Manpreet Singh Badal, People’s Party of Punjab chief and the estranged nephew of the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal may already have touched the nadir of his political career after his newly found party’s poor performance in the last assembly elections held in 2012.

But he may still have chance to rise from the rubble in the ensuing parliamentary elections scheduled to be held next year and that too in Bathinda against his sister in law Harsimrat Kaur Badal, the daughter in law of the Chief Minister and the wife of the Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal.

Manpreet who had claimed to provide an alternative to the Akalis and the Congress ended up drawing a blank despite an alliance with the left parties and some fringe groups in the assembly elections. However if he is able to reach at an understanding with the Congress, about which the Punjab Congress president Partap Bajwa has already conveyed sound signals, he may present a stiff challenge to Harsimrat Badal and may even be able to unseat her.

Harsimrat is going to seek re-election from Bathinda parliamentary constituency this time also. She won the last election in 2009 defeating Raninder Singh, the son of former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, of the Congress by a substantial margin of 1,20,948 votes in  a straight fight.

However, things are not going to be easy for her this time if Manpreet is able to forge an understanding or alliance with the Congress. In 2009 Akali Dal was a united force and Manpreet Badal had not parted ways with his uncle and the party. Manpreet’s party may not have made any worthwhile impact across the state, but in parts of Malwa region particularly in the assembly segments falling in the Bathinda, Faridkot and Ferozepur parliamentary constituencies his candidates polled quite a significant number of votes.

In nine assembly segments of the Bathinda parliamentary constituency the Sanhja Morcha (the PPP and CPI) candidates polled 1,52,729 votes, while the Akali candidates in these nine segments polled 4,90,685 votes and the Congress candidates polled 4,57,397 votes.

Although it cannot be a straight arithmetic that in case the Sanhja Morcha aligns with the Congress in the parliamentary elections it will outnumber the Akali Dal by about 1.10 lakh votes. However, this is certain that Manpreet in alliance with the Congress can prove to be a formidable challenge for his sister in law and give the Akalis the run for their money. This might turn out to be a golden opportunity for Manpreet to avenge all the humiliation and deprivation he has been suffering from after being thrown out of the Akali Dal.