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Punjab Key Candidates
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Sukhbir Singh Badal
Age:59
Education:Post Graduate
Jalalabad
60525 votes
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.