Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patriarch and five-time former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, 95, passed away at Fortis Hospital Mohali, confirmed Jangvir Singh, media advisor of the party. He was admitted to a private hospital in Mohali seven days ago, remained in the intensive care unit (ICU) on the second consecutive day on Saturday.
“Parkash Singh Badal, Former Chief Minister of Punjab, was admitted at Fortis Hospital Mohali on April 16, with acute exacerbation of bronchial asthma. He was shifted to the medical ICU on April 18 as his respiratory condition worsened”, the medical bulletin from Fortis Hospital said.“He had been on NIV and HFNC support along with medical management. He was being managed under Prof (Dr) Digambar Behera along with the Pulmonology and critical care team supported by Cardiology. Despite appropriate medical management S Parkash Singh Badal succumbed to his illness. Fortis Hospital Mohali deeply condoles the death of Parkash Singh Badal”, the medical bulletin read. Born on December 8, 1927 in Muktsar, Badal was elected as village sarpanch at the age of 20. He was elected as an MLA for the first time in 1957 on a Congress ticket. He became the chief minister of Punjab for the first time in 1970 at the age of 43, taking over from Gurnam Singh.
After becoming Akali Dal president in 1995, Badal joined hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party to form a pre-poll alliance which won the assembly polls in 1997. He served as the chief minister again from 2007 to 2017 before losing to the Congress. In 2008, Badal handed over the reins of the party to his son Sukhbir Singh Badal amid opposition from within his own party. A strong critic of the Modi government’s now repealed three farm laws, he had returned the Padma Vibhushan award in 2020. In the 2022 Punjab polls, he lost from his home turf Lambi to Aam Aadmi Party candidate Gurmeet Singh Khuddian with a margin of over 11,000 votes.
In his career Parkash Singh Badal contested 13 state assembly elections and won 11. Between 1969 and 2017 he won ten polls back-to-back.
