After years of setbacks, internal dissent, and shrinking vote share, the Shiromani Akali Dal is often written off. Yet, despite criticism, Sukhbir Singh Badal remains the only leader who has held the party together through its worst phase. So the key question before 2027 is this, is Akali Dal’s revival still possible under Sukhbir Badal’s leadership or is the party being unfairly judged for a decline driven more by changing politics than by leadership alone ?
कई वर्षों की चुनावी असफलताओं, अंदरूनी असंतोष और घटते वोट शेयर के बाद शिरोमणि अकाली दल को अक्सर कमजोर मान लिया जाता है। फिर भी, तमाम आलोचनाओं के बावजूद सुखबीर सिंह बादल वही नेता हैं जिन्होंने पार्टी को उसके सबसे कठिन दौर में भी एकजुट रखा। तो 2027 से पहले असली सवाल यह है, क्या सुखबीर सिंह बादल के नेतृत्व में अकाली दल की वापसी अब भी संभव है या फिर पार्टी के पतन को बदलती राजनीति के कारणों से ज़्यादा जोड़कर देखा जाना चाहिए, न कि केवल नेतृत्व से ?
Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema is hailing record tax and excise collections as proof of a fiscal turnaround. But the fine print tells another story, thousands of FIRs, arrests, penalties, and aggressive recoveries driving the numbers. Is Punjab fixing its economy, or simply collecting more by policing harder ? And if higher revenue is coming mainly from enforcement, excise, and penalties, when will ordinary Punjabis see relief, in lower taxes, lower prices or better services, rather than just tougher compliance ? Is this reform or revenue through pressure ?
