Following the murderous attack on Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal at Nanded in Maharashtra on August 13, his wife and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal has emerged as the party’s key face in state politics, increasingly taking on a role that once belonged to Sukhbir during the political dominance of his father, five-time Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.Harsimrat, who is a former Union Minister and has won the Bathinda Lok Sabha seat for a record fourth consecutive term, is now taking a more prominent role in the SAD’s state-level campaign.Her increased visibility was evident at back-to-back party rallies over the past two days. She addressed the SAD rally at Isru in Ludhiana district on August 15 and subsequently addressed the party’s “Punjab Bachao” rally at Guruharsahai in Ferozepur district on August 16.The development assumes significance as Sukhbir remains the party’s central political figure but is recovering after being injured in a “kirpan” attack at a gurdwara in Nanded.Until recently, senior party leader and former RajyaSabha member Balwinder Singh Bhunder and Harsimrat’s brother-cum former minister Bikram Singh Majithia were among the prominent leaders leading the party’s public programmes in the absence of Sukhbir. Bhunder had also served as the SAD’s working president for a short period.The growing involvement of Harsimrat (60) in the party’s organisational and political affairs started around two months ago, when she began attending internal meetings at the SAD headquarters in Chandigarh, signalling a bigger role in the party’s decision-making process.Her involvement had also increased during another difficult phase for Sukhbir. On August 30, 2024, after the Akal Takht declared him a “tankhaiya” (a term used for a person found guilty of religious misconduct) and he temporarily suspended his political activities, the SAD appointed Harsimrat as the party’s in-charge for the Gidderbaha Assembly bypoll.