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A Badal man in Badal land, after 10
years
WSN Network
 BADAL:
After a hiatus
of 10 years, Badal, the native
village of CM
Parkash Singh Badal, will have his supporter as the sarpanch. Of the
1,898 votes polled, Badal supporters Sukhdev Singh and Durga Singh
got 765 and 645, respectively, followed by Bhajna Singh (445).
The post of
sarpanch is reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates. The final
decision will be taken by the Badal family, a strange mark of
democracy in Badal land but a behaviour that does not seem peculiar
to area people. Deep are the roots of feudalism.
During the last
two panchayat elections, the villagers sided with Congress leader
Mahesh Inder Singh Badal, Chief Minister's cousin and rival. Seven
other panchayat members backed by the Badal family have already been
elected unopposed in the nine-member panchayat. Seven Congress
candidates failed to file their nominations on the final day due to
one hurdle or the other. Badal himself was elected sarpanch four
times before becoming the Chief Minister. In 1959, his father Raghu
Raj Singh became the sarpanch, followed by Badal in 1963. The past
10 years have seen Jaswinder Kaur and Sanjam Singh Dhillon, both put
up by Mahesh Inder Singh Badal, winning the polls.
28
May,
2008
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