Last major Akali leader with no 2nd generation in assembly
Bathinda: In Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Punjab has lost one of the last of its first-generation politicians of high degree, mainly aligned with the Akali polity.
Only a handful of veteran politicians, including Capt Amarinder Singh and Balwant Singh Ramoowalia — both of whom have had affiliations with the
Akali Dal
as well as other parties—remain from the old guard to witness this evolving political scene.
Punjab has already witnessed a number of towering political leaders, including Parkash Singh Badal, Surjit Singh Barnala, Gurcharan Singh Tohra, Jagdev Singh Talwandi, Kuldeep Singh Wadala, Ranjit Singh Brahampura, and many others, passing away.
Currently, the second generation — comprising heirs of the Badal, Barnala, Dhindsa, Brahampura, and Wadala families — holds key positions, though none has yet emerged as dominant power brokers.
Among them, only the next generation of the Badal and Dhindsa families has attained significant political success.
The sons of Surjit Singh Barnala, Jagdev Singh Talwandi, Gurcharan Singh Tohra, and Ranjit Singh Brahampura have each won only a single electoral contest. Barnala's son Gaganjit Singh was elected in 2002 from Dhuri; Talwandi's son Ranjit Singh Talwandi from the Raikot assembly constituency in 2002; and Brahmpura's son Ravinder Singh Brahmpura won in a byelection in 2016.
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Tohra's adopted daughter, Kuldeep Kaur had lost, but her husband Harmail Singh won in 1997 and was elevated as minister, though he quit during the Badal-Tohra feud during that tenure.
Gurpratap Singh Wadala, son of Kuldeep Singh Wadala, secured victory twice in the Punjab assembly elections of 2012 and 2017.
In contrast, the Badal and Dhindsa families have maintained a firmer grip on power. Sukhbir Singh Badal and Parminder Singh Dhindsa have won multiple elections and held influential govt positions. Sukhbir and his wife Harsimrat Kaur Badal have also served as ministers in the Union govt.
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