Down from 11 in 2004, to just 5 now, a much chastened Sukhbir Badal, deputy chief minister and president of the Akali Dal, reacted by saying that the next two years of his government will be devoted to providing accelerated development and fulfilling the party’s election promises. Didn’t we hear him say that two years agoas well? A huge face saver for the Akali Dal though, is his wife Harsimrat Kaur’s victory over Raninder Singh, son of former chief minister Amarinder Singhof the Congress from Bhatinda with a convincing margin.
It's been just two years since the Badal clan came to power in Punjab and people have alreadysignalled their disappointment. The common perception is that what goes by the name of the Akali-BJP government inPunjab is actually a government of the Badal clan. With as many as four family members in the cabinet,with both father and son holding the two top jobs, it is Badal Inc which runs Punjab today, almost like a business venture. The anti-Badal sentiment though has much to do with Sukhbir Badal’s despotic style of functioning.