Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced its organizational team on Monday after a long wait. Manpreet Singh Badal from Punjab has got a place in this team. BJP national president Nitin Nabin has appointed him national vice president. For BJP, the appointment of Manpreet Badal is being linked to the strategy of strengthening the political base of the party in Punjab. Manpreet Badal belongs to the Badal family which ruled Punjab for many decades and is considered very strong politically. In Punjab politics, the promotion of Manpreet Badal is being seen as an attempt to woo the Jat Sikh vote bank.
Bharatiya Janata Party is planning to contest the upcoming assembly elections of Punjab with full strength on all the seats. In such a situation, the party is trying to solve different caste and social equations. In this series, first Kewal Singh Dhillon was made the party president and now Manpreet Singh Badal has been made the national vice president. Manpreet Singh Badal has been the Finance Minister of Punjab for a long time and has worked in Congress and Akali governments.
Also read: Bullying seen in Lucknow hotel in the name of Foreign Ministry, game open with 478 fake IDs
Who is Manpreet Singh Badal?
Manpreet Singh Badal is a new name in national level politics but he is an old player in Punjab politics. He was born on 26 July 1962 in Muktsar district of Punjab. He is the nephew of former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. His father Gurdas Singh Badal was also active in Punjab politics. That is, Manpreet's political journey started from a family which has had a strong hold in the politics of Punjab for many decades.
He also started politics with his family's party Shiromani Akali Dal and became MLA for the first time from Gidderbaha assembly seat in 1995. After this, he reached the assembly from the same seat in 1997, 2002 and 2007 also. In 2007, he was made the Finance Minister in the SAD-BJP government led by Prakash Singh Badal. However, later due to political differences, he left the Akali Dal and formed his own People's Party of Punjab.
Manpreet Badal's party later merged with Congress and he became a part of Congress. In the 2017 assembly elections, he won the Bathinda Urban seat and once again became the Finance Minister in the Captain Amarinder Singh government. In this way, he became one of those leaders in Punjab politics who had the experience of handling the responsibility of the Finance Department for a long time. As Finance Minister of Punjab, he presented the state budget several times. He was recognized as a leader with command over economic and financial matters. However, he had to face defeat from Bathinda Urban seat in the 2022 assembly elections. In January 2023, he resigned from Congress and joined BJP on the same day.
Why is Manpreet Badal important for BJP?
The organization of Bharatiya Janata Party is quite weak in Punjab and Manpreet Singh Badal has the experience of running his own party along with Akali Dal, Congress. Along with this, his politics is fitting into the equations of BJP. Manpreet Badal's political influence is mainly in Bathinda and Gidderbaha area. These areas are an important part of Malwa. Malwa has special importance in the politics of Punjab because the maximum number of 69 assembly seats falls in this region and BJP lacks strong leaders from this region.
Along with this, Jat Sikh voters also have a large share in this area. BJP has been trying for a long time to attract Jat Sikh votes from Akali Dal and Aam Aadmi Party. In such a situation, the appointment of Manpreet Badal is being considered as a strategic step in this direction. The party hopes that Badal's political experience and his identity in Malwa can help the BJP reach out to this community.
Also read: Ram temple offering theft: Clean chit to Champat Rai and Anil Mishra in SIT investigation
Giddarbaha Fort
Gidderbaha was once considered an impregnable fort of Akali Dal but later the Congress party won this fort. The person who wrested this seat from Akali Dal in 2012 is today the chief of Punjab Congress, but in the by-election held in 2024, Aam Aadmi Party won this seat. Now this seat is one of the hottest seats. The contest on this seat is likely to be interesting in the upcoming assembly elections. BJP has got a strong face from this seat in the form of Manpreet Badal who has a good influence on the surrounding seats also. Even though Manpreet Badal has lost the election from this seat, the party does not have any better face than Manpreet Singh Badal to solve the equations of Malwa region.