Archive · 23 Sep 2026
Harsimrat Badal’s Women-Centred Campaign Tests Akali Legacy
Harsimrat Kaur Badal is a senior politician from Punjab.
She has started a campaign called Maawan-Dhiyan, which means mothers and daughters.
The campaign focuses on problems such as drugs, alleged police abuse and women’s rights.
She is holding meetings and marches and sending complaints to the Punjab Governor.
Harsimrat became more visible after her husband, Sukhbir Singh Badal, was attacked.
She has been in Parliament for many years and has often raised Punjab-related issues.
Her family name gives her political strength, but it also connects her to the Shiromani Akali Dal’s difficult past.
The big question is whether she can create a stronger personal role before the 2027 Punjab election.
Harsimrat Kaur Badal launched the women-focused Maawan-Dhiyan campaign across Punjab.
The campaign highlights drugs, alleged police excesses, women’s dignity and financial support.
Her political visibility increased after her husband, Sukhbir Singh Badal, was attacked in August.
Harsimrat has represented Bathinda in the Lok Sabha since 2009 and remains a four-term MP.
Her central challenge is building an independent political identity while carrying the Badal family legacy.
- Who
- Harsimrat Kaur Badal, a four-term Lok Sabha MP from Bathinda, is leading the campaign.
- What
- She has launched the women-focused Maawan-Dhiyan campaign, featuring public meetings, protest marches and memorandums.
- When
- The campaign began on September 21, with further events reported on Tuesday and Wednesday; the broader political test concerns the 2027 Assembly election.
- Where
- The campaign has included Rampura Phul, Nathana, Mansa, Sardulgarh, Lambi and Gidderbaha in Punjab.
- Why
- It seeks to raise issues including drugs, alleged police excesses, women’s dignity, justice, rights and financial support.
Campaign supporters’ view
Political scrutiny
Women’s mobilisation
Campaign supporters’ view
Supporters can view Maawan-Dhiyan as an expansion of Harsimrat Badal’s longstanding association with women’s empowerment and as a way to foreground women’s rights and dignity.
Political scrutiny
Critics may question whether the campaign can become a broader political connection with women voters rather than remaining a party programme.
Harsimrat’s political identity
Campaign supporters’ view
Her supporters can point to her electoral durability, Punjab-focused parliamentary work and 2020 resignation over farm legislation as evidence of an established political identity.
Political scrutiny
Her political role remains closely linked to Sukhbir Singh Badal, the Badal family and the Shiromani Akali Dal, making an independent reinvention difficult.
Shiromani Akali Dal’s credibility
Campaign supporters’ view
Harsimrat’s focus on drugs, sacrilege, policing and Punjab’s interests could help the Shiromani Akali Dal rebuild its connection with voters.
Political scrutiny
The party’s critics can point to its difficult record, including the 2015 Bargari sacrilege incidents and police firing on protesters when the SAD-BJP government was in power.
- Campaign
- Maawan-Dhiyan, a women-focused political campaign
- Launch locations
- Rampura Phul and Nathana
- Issues raised
- Drugs, alleged police excesses, women’s dignity, justice, rights and financial support
- Parliamentary tenure
- Harsimrat Badal first entered Parliament from Bathinda in 2009 and is now a four-term Lok Sabha MP
- Cabinet resignation
- She resigned as Union Minister for Food Processing Industries on September 17, 2020, over the Centre’s farm legislation
- Parliamentary data
- PRS Legislative Research recorded 29 debates, 90 questions and 69% attendance for the current Lok Sabha up to August 13, 2026
- Political deadline
- The campaign is unfolding ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly election