Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann sounded unusually reflective at the Mahinder Singh Randhawa Literature and Arts Festival. The satirist-turned-politician said life had come full circle. “I used to mock leaders,” Mann said, adding that he now listens to his old cassettes to ensure he does not repeat the same mistakes for which he once took politicians to task.
His biggest lesson in politics, he said, was simple: promise only what you can deliver. He spoke of trying to “break the image of leaders” who say different things in different places, recalling his own satirical poem on elections in a jungle where exaggerated promises ruled the day. Earlier, he noted, leaders could say one thing in Samana and the opposite in Barnala, and no one would know. That luxury no longer exists.
The irony was hard to miss. Mann’s candid confession came as the Aam Aadmi Party Government struggles to fulfil its flagship promise of Rs 1,000 per month to women. With state finances under strain, the Government is scrambling to arrange funds, even as the final year of its term approaches. Satire, after all, is easier than governance.
The Sidhus and Congress’s we-told-you moment
When Navjot Singh Sidhu’s wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu recently called AICC leader Rahul Gandhi a “Pappu”, many Congress leaders did not bristle. Instead, they quietly nodded and said, “Told you so.” Back in 2017, before the Punjab Assembly elections, election strategist Prashant Kishor had persuaded the Gandhis to bring Sidhu into the Congress. Sidhu was also window-shopping with the Aam Aadmi Party but finally boarded the Congress bus. The gamble paid off. The party swept 77 seats, and Sidhu was credited with adding colour and decibels to the campaign.
Not everyone was convinced. Then Congress in-charge Asha Kumari dismissed the Sidhu couple as a “Tonga Party” and tried to block their entry. Her warning was brushed aside.
By the 2022 elections, the Sidhu couple’s support for the party was lukewarm at best. Charanjit Singh Channi was the chief ministerial candidate. Now, with an eye on 2027, Sidhu has accused the Congress of auctioning the chief minister’s chair for Rs 500 crore, quit the party on social media, was expelled, and began attacking Rahul Gandhi.
A senior Congress leader summed it up with a sigh: “Even the Opposition has stopped using the word ‘Pappu’. It’s sad, but somewhere, we feel vindicated, exactly after nine years.”
Wadde Badal and jail
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Parkash Singh Badal, the tallest Akali leader of his time, was once blunt about political privilege within his own party. In 2013, at an NRI Sammelan in Jalandhar, Badal, then chief minister, said he had gone to jail during his long political career, while leaders like Bikram Singh Majithia and Sukhbir Singh Badal had received everything “on a platter”. It was a rare, unsparing admission from a man known for careful words and political instinct.
At the time, the comment was seen more as a gentle rebuke than a warning. Majithia was viewed as one of the most influential leaders, rising fast without the hardships that shaped Badal’s generation. But politics has a way of circling back.
Since that remark, Majithia has been jailed twice. The first was during the tenure of Charanjit Singh Channi as chief minister, when Badal was still alive. Though frail, the Akali patriarch saw privilege lose its aura of invincibility. The second jail term came after Badal’s death. Majithia has now spent six months in jail since June, confronting a political and legal reality far removed from the one Badal once described.
Of grey beards and royal turbans
Will the 2027 Punjab Assembly election be fought over grey, flowing beards, and neatly tied turbans? All signs suggest yes, as leaders across party lines appear to have converged on a new dress code. From Congress leaders Pargat Singh and Balbir Sidhu to Rana Gurjit Singh, and BJP Rajya Sabha MP Satnam Singh Sandhu, the trend is unmistakable. Grey, flowing beards have replaced trimmed or tied beards, often dyed jet black. Even Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, once known for shorn hair, began wearing a turban after taking over as state Congress chief.
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The shift began earlier. Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal was among the first to adopt the grey, flowing beard. Bikram Singh Majithia, recently released on bail from Nabha jail, has joined the club. Before the 2022 Assembly elections, former deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa had already tried the grey-beard look.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann too was once seen with shorn hair. He began wearing a turban well before the 2017 Assembly elections, signalling a deliberate image shift. In a state where symbolism matters as much as slogans, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has also joined the bandwagon, recently appearing in a saffron turban. In Punjab and its political neighbourhood, image, it seems, is increasingly part of the campaign script.
