Punjab Key Candidates

He is the youngest serving president of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) after taking over from his father in 2008. He has projected himself as a ‘development-oriented’ leader in this year’s polls riding on highways, thermal plants and airports. Sukhbir remained at the helm of state government as deputy chief minister from 2009-2017, but was voted out of power in 2017 after a section of SAD blamed him for the party’s downfall. However, he shot back into prominence after leading the party’s re-election campaign in 2012 for a second consecutive term. The SAD subsequently saw a change in character, from being a party of Sikhs to a ‘Punjabi’ party, bringing in Hindus faces as MLAs to widen its base.

He is the youngest serving president of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) after taking over from his father in 2008. He has projected himself as a ‘development-oriented’ leader in this year’s polls riding on highways, thermal plants and airports. Sukhbir remained at the helm of state government as deputy chief minister from 2009-2017, but was voted out of power in 2017 after a section of SAD blamed him for the party’s downfall. However, he shot back into prominence after leading the party’s re-election campaign in 2012 for a second consecutive term. The SAD subsequently saw a change in character, from being a party of Sikhs to a ‘Punjabi’ party, bringing in Hindus faces as MLAs to widen its base.