Former Punjab CM and senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader Parkash Singh Badal passed away on Tuesday.
Parkash Singh Badal was born on December 8, 1927, in Abul Khurana near Malout. He entered the state Assembly from Malout in 1957 as the Congress nominee and in 1969, entered the Assembly from Gidderbaha seat on the SAD ticket. He was elected as MLA for 11 times, losing only twice.
Badal became the Chief Minister for the first time in 1970. He was the youngest Chief Minister and headed a coalition government. But the government did not complete its term. Later, he became the Chief Minister four times, from 1977 to 1980, 1997 to 2002, 2007 to 2012, and 2012 to 2017. In 1977, he briefly joined Morarji Desai’s government as the Agriculture minister at the Centre.