Punjab Assembly elections: The other Badal's spring dream

MOUR (Bathinda): It’s odd to hear a well-groomed salwarkameez clad Sardar explain Arab Spring to a motley group of Sikhs in a nondescript village, Maiserkhana, in Bathinda district. But that is Manpreet Badal, former finance minister and the ‘other’ Badal, who likes to look different with a white streak in his beard.

The difference is not all superficial. While not many give him a considerable number of seats, the man is credited with changing the state’s political discourse ahead of Assembly elections, focusing on development and need for a debt-ridden state to cut subsidies and power freebies.

This marks a departure from iron-clad consensus on continuing with subsidies, despite the realisation that the current model of development has led the state’s finances into disarray and created a host of problems from plunging water table to higher salinity. But with few signs of regret over how Punjab missed out on the IT revolution, Manpreet, a St Stephen’s alumnus suggests the state raring to step outside the box. “Punjab will see its own spring when results are announced," he says, as he gets into his selfdriven Toyota Fortuner. He has refused state bodyguards.

“Spring is not just about getting rid of this government but about raising the bar of politics in Punjab," Manpreet adds. He has promised a law which will allow police to arrest Punjab’s notorious drug dealers merely on suspicion. His People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) heads Sanjha Morcha, a coalition which comprises CPM, CPI and Shiromani Akali Dal (Longowal).

While PPP has been accused of harbouring dissidents from other parties, Manpreet says he gave tickets to only 3 such out of 92 PPP contestants. He adds the average age of his candidate is below 50; 95% are first-timers, 90% are graduates.

Asked how he managed to forge an alliance with the Communists and at the same time talk about doing away with subsidies, he counters the propaganda that he was doing away with welfare measures even for vulnerable sections.

“I like the safety net you see in a circus where if a performer falls, he manages to save his life with the help of the net,” suggesting that while he may be convinced about the need to restore fiscal discipline, he was no fiscal fanatic.