Punjab Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh is set to take on Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal on his home turf ‘Lambi’ in the assembly polls on February 4.
The high voltage contest between the two stalwarts can be termed as a political battle between ‘royalty’ and ‘dynasty’, as both the leaders are going head to head in their distinguish style.
While Capt, representing Patiala’s royal family, is wooing voters with ‘4G smart-phones’, his counterpart, 89-year-old Badal, the oldest CM in India, has rather restricted himself to traditional ‘Sangat Darshan’ (meeting people to address their problems on the spot) to make a connect with voters.
Families of both the above leaders, ‘Captain Family’ and ‘Badal Family’, have been holding key positions in the state politics. Although the Congress is yet to ‘officially’ declare Captain Amarinder Singh as their CM candidate, he had been spearheading the party’s campaign in the state as Punjab Congress chief. On the other hand, CM Badal will continue to be the SAD’s CM candidate as confirmed by his Deputy CM and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Badal.
CM Badal, 89, who, according to Capt, is 94 actually, is a five-time CM of the state having his son Sukhbir Badal as deputy CM, son-in-law Adaish Partap Singh Kairon, and Sukhbir’s brother-in-law Bikram Singh Majithia in the cabinet. Sukhbir’s wife Harsimrat Kaur Badal is a Union Minister.
On the other hand, Capt Amarinder, who was the CM between 2002 and 2007, is the son of Maharaja Yadavindra Singh and Maharani Mohinder Kaur of Patiala belonging to the Phulkian Jat dynasty of Sidhu Brar descent. Capt's wife, Preneet Kaur was the Union Minister of state for external affairs, during 2009 to 2014, in the Manmohan Singh government.
Prof Ashutosh Kumar of Political Science Department of Punjab University (PU) said both Capt and Badal are powerful when it comes to connecting with masses. “Badal senior has a different connection with elderly voters of Punjab by which he has helped his regional party in emerging into mainstream politics. On the other hand, Capt has a different vision of connecting with youth being a leader of the national party,” he said.
Aam Adami Party (AAP) is terming the move just eyewash and a planned game between SAD and Congress. “Why he (Amarinder) is contesting from two seats, Patiala and Lambi? If he is serious then he should focus on one seat only. Capt’s Lambi move is a hidden pact between SAD and Congress to befool the Punjab people”, AAP spokesperson Chander Suta Dogra said.