July 23, 2011 10:45:10 PM
Amitabh Shukla | Chandigarh
The Manpreet Singh Badal and the People’s Party of
In every political meeting and Sangat Darshan (exercise to meet people and address grievances), the Badal patriarch has something nasty or emotional to say about his nephew Manpreet. This has only intensified in recent weeks even though when Manpreet was expelled from the party, the senior Badal had simply shrugged off the matter as having no political consequence.
For the SAD, it is now clearly a fight against two political enemies. While Congress is obviously the enemy Number one, no one is in any doubt now that Manpreet is the enemy Number two. The SAD fears that if he makes even a slight dent into the traditional vote-bank of the party, the consequences could be alarming. Fighting anti incumbency and a resurgent Congress, SAD simply cannot afford to have any erosion in its rural-farmer-panthic vote bank, assiduously built over the last few decades.
No wonder, in the run-up to the Assembly polls, SAD is targeting both the Congress and PPP of Manpreet. If the PPP issues any statement, SAD retaliates by countering it the same evening or the next day. A senior party functionary says that this is an admission of the fact that you cannot turn a blind eye to PPP any more.
Sample this: An emotional senior Badal says that the death of his wife and Manpreet leaving the parent party hurt him. Manpreet retaliates saying he was expelled and did not leave on his own accord.
-Manpreet says the creation of Punjabi Suba was a mistake. SAD retaliates saying the statement is malicious and misleading.
- The uncle says that Manpreet committed political suicide by leaving his parent party and he did all this at the behest of the Congress terming him as opportunist. The nephew reiterates that he never left the party and was expelled and he only talks about the future well being of the state.
- The PPP chief says wrong policies and mistakes has led
The war of words between the SAD and PPP has only intensified in recent weeks. Clearly, SAD is now politically pitted against two outfits and it is not to its liking. “In fact, SAD has provided more credence to the PPP by reacting to it. Manpreet should be left alone. He cannot survive politically beyond the assembly elections,” a party worker said, a sentiment which a lot of SAD sympathizers hold.
Badal, who will perhaps spearhead the party for the last time in 2012 polls, before handing over the baton to his son and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, has spent a lot of time in Gidderbaha, the home turf of Manpreet in the Badals stronghold of the Malwa region recently. He has reached out to the people like never before and indicated in no uncertain terms that Manpreet is an outsider, was some kind of a villain and it was only due to SAD’s patronage that he became the Finance Minister of the state and acquired any stature.
Taking the threat of Manpreet seriously, Badal senior has tried to win over the SAD MLAs who decided to support the former Finance Minister. A case in point is Beas MLA Manjinder Singh Kang who has for all practical purposes now deserted Manpreet to go back to the parent party.
Political observers are closely watching how the Badals versus Badal battle will unfold as the final overs of the political match are played out in the next few months.
http://dailypioneer.com/355456/Battle-of-Badals-heats-up-political-climate.html
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