Gidderbaha bypolls: Manpreet banks on Modi magic, Badal legacy
Manpreet in his address said that the people of Gidderbaha have always supported Parkash Singh Badal and Manpreet, indirectly linking himself to the late Shriromani Akali Dal patriarch Parkash Singh Badal.
Former state finance minister and Bhartiya Janta Party’s (BJP) Gidderbaha bypoll candidate Manpreet Singh Badal despite relying on prime minister Narendra Modi never forgets to mention former Punjab chief minister and his uncle Parkash Singh Badal to woo the voters during the poll campaign.
During a bypoll campaign in Gidderbaha’s Bhaliana village on Monday, Manpreet started his address saying that the people of Gidderbaha have always supported Parkash Singh Badal and Manpreet. He also indirectly linked himself to the late Shriromani Akali Dal (SAD) patriarch Badal.
During the campaign, Manpreet reminded people of his old connection to Gidderbaha as being an MLA. “I have returned to Gidderbaha after 15 years, my banwas is now over. I seek your support to change Punjab and Gidderbaha. The people of Gidderbaha have always supported our family since I was a child. Vadde Badal sahab was the MLA from this constituency five times. This is not a relationship of politics. This is a bond of love. It is a three-generation bond.”
He also said that PM Modi has given everything to the economically disadvantaged people in Punjab but still some people hate him.
“Recently, panchayat elections have concluded in Punjab, I want to ask you how many sarpanches have been elected for a third term. I am sure you will fall short of names. Meanwhile, Modi has been elected as PM for the third consecutive term, there must be something extraordinary in him,” Manpreet said.
The Badal family has dominated the Gidderbaha seat in the past decades. Former CM Parkash Singh Badal had won five consecutive elections from Gidderbaha from 1969-85. Later, Parkash Singh Badal shifted base to Lambi constituency.
Sukhbir Singh Badal’s cousin Manpreet contested his first election from Gidderbaha as a bypoll candidate in 1995 and won the seat for SAD. Later, he won three consecutive vidhan sabha elections in 1997, 2002 and 2007.
In 2010, SAD expelled Manpreet. In 2011, he formed his own party — Punjab People’s Party (PPP) but lost the assembly elections in 2012.
Since then, the seat has fallen to Congress as the party’s state president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring has won from Gidderbaha for three consecutive terms.
In 2017, Manpreet joined the Congress and was elected as an MLA from Bathinda city. Later, in 2022 assembly elections, Manpreet lost the seat to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Manpreet resigned from the Congress in 2023 and joined the BJP.
Manpreet was accompanied by union state minister Ravneet Singh Bittu, who said only the Centre government led by PM Modi, can guide Punjab out of all crises. “Punjab needs the Centre’s representation in the state for faster growth and improved prosperity. Voting for Manpreet Badal will ensure this,” Bittu said.