Manpreet Badal Age, Caste, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Full name	Manpreet Singh Badal [1]The Print
Profession	Politician
Famous for	Being the nephew of the Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch and the former Chief Minister of Punjab, Parkash Singh Badal
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 190 cm in meters- 1.90 m in feet & inches- 6’ 3”
Eye Colour	Brown
Hair Colour	Salt & Pepper
Politics
Political Party	• Shiromani Akali Dal (1990s-2010) • People’s Party of Punjab (2011-2016) • Indian National Congress (2016-2023) • Bharatiya Janata Party (January2023-present)
Political Journey	• Joined the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in 1990s • Elected to the Legislative Assembly of Punjab from Gidderbaha constituency in 1995 • Retained the Legislative Assembly seat for three consecutive terms, i.e., 1997, 2002, and 2007 • Appointed as the Minister for Finance & Planning in Parkash Singh Badal’s government in 2007 • Resigned from the post of Finance Minister of Punjab in September 2010 • Expelled from Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in October 2010 • Formed his own party People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) in January 2011 • Contested the 2012 Legislative Assembly elections in Punjab from Gidderbaha and Maur constituencies, but lost both the seats • Contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections on a ticket from the People’s Party of Punjab in alliance with the Indian National Congress but lost to his sister-in-law Harsimrat Kaur Badal from Shiromani Akali Dal by a margin of 19,395 votes • Merged his party with the Indian National Congress on 15 January 2016 • Elected to the 2017 Legislative Assembly of Punjab from the Bathinda Urban constituency • Appointed as the Finance Minister of Punjab for the second time in 2017 and assumed the office till 2022 • Contested the 2022 Legislative Elections of Punjab from Bathinda Urban constituency but lost to Jagroop Singh Gill of the Aam Aadmi Party by a margin of 63,581 votes (the highest margin from which a candidate lost in the entire Punjab elections of 2022) • Resigned from the Indian National Congress and Joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on 18 January 2023
Personal Life
Date of Birth	26 July 1962 (Thursday)
Age (as of 2023)	61 Years
Birthplace	Village Badal, Punjab, India
Zodiac sign	Leo
Signature
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Village Badal, Punjab, India
School	The Doon School, Dehradun, Uttarakhand
College/University	• St. Stephen College, Delhi • University of London
Educational Qualification	• Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in History from St. Stephen College, Delhi (1984) • A Graduate Degree in Law from University of London (1987) [2]MyNeta
Religion	Sikhism [3]India Narrative
Caste	Jat [4]India Narrative
Address	VPO Badal, District Muktsar, Punjab, India
Controversies	Humiliating the IAS officers of Punjab: In March 2018, while addressing the World Punjabi Conference, Manpreet Singh Badal shamed the IAS officers in Punjab of poor English skills and said that most of the official work in Punjab was done in the Punjabi language. A video from the event went viral in which he could be heard saying, "No one (IAS officers) can write letters. Sometimes we hold our heads in shame as to how these people cleared the IAS (exams). They cannot even write letters or memorandums to the government of India." In the video, he further says, "Barring one or two, other IAS officers, mostly don’t know how to write English. They don’t know how to write a letter." Although, the IAS officers kept a mum on the subject, a few IAS officers disclosed that Manpreet's remarks were criticised in IAS social media groups. [5]Business Standard Irregularities in the Purchase of Properties: In 2021, Manpreet Singh was clouded in a controversy when a politician and businessman named Sarup Chand Singla filed a complaint against him regarding the purchase of two properties in a prime location in Bathinda, Punjab. According to Singla, Manpreet had converted two commercial properties into residential ones for himself using his powers as the Minister of Finance and Planning. Following the complaint, a case was registered against Manpreet Singh under Sections 420 (cheating) and 468 (forgery) of the IPC, along with violations of the Prevention of Corruption Act. After this, the police officials initiated a search for Manpreet. His farmhouse in Badal, Punjab, was raided by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau on 25 September 2023 to arrest him in the case, but they could not find him there. The Punjab Vigilance Bureau, however, issued a Lookout Circular (LOC) against Manpreet on the same day as authorities were concerned that he might attempt to flee the country to evade arrest. [6]The Tribune An arrest warrant was issued by a Bhatinda court against Manpreet on 26 September 2023. [7]India Today
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Married
Family
Wife/Spouse	Vinu Badal (director of Watermill Foods Private Limited)
Children	Son- Arjun Badal Daughter- Rhea Badal
Parents	Father- Gurdas Singh Badal (politician and parliamentarian; died on 15 May 2020) Mother- Harmandir Kaur Badal (died on 19 March 2020)
Siblings	Manpreet has a sister who is married to Jaijeet Johal.
Money Factor
Salary/Income	Rs. 15,90,760 (2020-2021) [8]MyNeta
Assets/Properties	Movable Assets • Cash Rs. 1,00,000 • Bank Deposits Rs. 6,27,058 • Shares in Dass Agri farm Research Pvt Ltd. Rs. 5,00,000 • Gold Jewellery Rs. 2,40,000 Immovable Assets • Commercial Buildings Rs. 1,57,74,000 Note: The given estimates of movable and immovable assets are according to the year 2022. It excludes the assets owned by his wife, dependents (minor), and HUF. [9]MyNeta
Net Worth	Rs. 1,72,41,059 Note: The given estimates are for the financial year 2021-2022. It excludes the net worth of his wife, dependents (minors), and HUF. [10]MyNeta

Some Lesser Known Facts About Manpreet Badal

• Manpreet Singh Badal is an Indian politician, who is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He has served as the Minister for Finance & Planning at the Government of Punjab two times, first during Parkash Singh Badal‘s government from 2007 to 2010 and the second time during Captain Amrinder Singh led government from 16 March 2017 to 10 March 2022. Badal has remained a member of the Punjab Legislative Assembly five times.

• Manpreet Singh Badal grew up in a family with a political background in village Badal, Punjab.

• He learned the basics of politics from his father and paternal uncle at a young age and joined his uncle’s political party Shiromani Akali Dal in the 1990s.

• In 1995, he contested the Legislative Assembly elections in Punjab for the first time on a ticket of Shiromani Akali Dal, becoming an MLA from the Gidderbaha constituency.

• In 2007, Manpreet was appointed as the Finance Minister of Punjab in Parkash Singh Badal’s government. During his tenure as the Finance Minister, Manpreet had some differences with the party over the debt waiver offer from the Centre, and in September 2010, he was removed from his post. After, around a month, the party expelled him for getting involved in some anti-party activities.

• In 2012, ahead of the Legislative Assembly elections in Punjab, Manpreet’s party made an alliance with other parties like CPI, CPI(M), and SAD (Longowal), and Manpreet became the chief ministerial candidate of the coalition. Manpreet was a contender for the Gidderbaha and Maur seats. However, he lost both of them.

• His father also contested the elections from the Lambi constituency. Gurdas lost the elections to Parkash Singh Badal by a huge margin, forfeiting even his security deposit.

• During the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the People’s Party of Punjab formed a coalition with the Indian National Congress and Manpreet contested the elections from the Bathinda constituency against his sister-in-law Harsimrat Kaur Badal. Manpreet faced a defeat in the elections.

• Although he lost the Lok Sabha elections, Manpreet actively worked for the betterment of Bathinda.

• Following his win in the 2017 Legislative Assembly elections from the Bathinda Urban constituency, Manpreet was given the charge of the finance ministry in the Amarinder Singh-led government.
  

  Manpreet Singh Badal during a rally in Bathinda

• During his second term as the Finance Minister of Punjab, Manpreet worked hard to improve the financial status of the state. The Punjab GSDP saw an annual rise of 11.5 per cent, leading the figures from Rs 4.71 lakh crore in 2017-18 to Rs 5.25 lakh crore in 2018-2019. The GDP of Punjab increased by 9.41 [per cent to reach Rs. 5,74,760 in 2018-2019. The per capita income of Punjab also recorded a change of 30 per cent, rising from Rs 1.28 lakh per annum in 2016 to Rs 1.67 lakh in 2020.

• In 2018, Manpreet also fulfilled his pending promise of reviving the Guru Nanak Dev Thermal power plant in Bathinda, a campaign trail which was neglected by the SAD-BJP government. The project became a problem for Badal’s political rivals.

• Although Manpreet managed to become a key member of the Indian National Congress due to his exemplary work, he had several issues with a few Congress leaders including Punjab Pradesh Congress chief and Gidderbaha MLA Amarinder Singh Raja Warring. Apparently, Warring once complained about Manpreet to Captain Amarinder Singh. According to some sources, during the 2022 Legislative Assembly polls, Raja Warring used his campaign slogan
  

  Saare Badal hara deo, Bathinde wala Badal vi hara deo (Ensure all Badals lose, even the one contesting from Bathinda).”

• Following his defeat in the 2022 Legislative Assembly elections, Manpreet Singh Badal went into a political hibernation. On 18 January 2023, he quit the Indian National Congress by writing a letter to Rahul Gandhi. The letter read,
  

  I do not see the point in elaborating extensively on all the particular proceedings that led to my ultimate and irrevocable disaffection. Suffice it to say, that the manner in which the Congress party has conducted its affairs and taken decisions, specifically with regards to Punjab, has been disheartening to say the least.”

• On the same day, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in the presence of Union Minister Piyush Goyal and BJP’s national general secretary Tarun Chugh.
  

  Manpreet Singh Badal being welcomed to the party by the party members at a press conference held by the BJP in Delhi for his joining

• While Manpreet was serving as the Finance Minister of Punjab, he did not use any red-light vehicle or took any security. In an interview, when he was asked about the same, he said,
  

  I am in public life on my own choice and feel no threat to my life from any body.”

• Manpreet Singh Badal has presented the Punjab budget nine times, the maximum for any minister in Punjab.

• Besides English Hindi and Punjabi, Manpreet is also fluent in the Urdu language. He often uses Urdu couplets in his speeches.

• As of 2023, Manpreet is a director at Dass Agri Farm Research Private Limited, a non-government organisation.

• Manpreet is an avid reader and has a penchant for Urdu poetry.

• His favourite pastimes include travelling, playing basketball, and doing social service.