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.