Sukhbir Badal’s call for Agri reform revival: Between risk, memory and political signalling....by GPS Mann

As Punjab inches toward the 2027 Assembly elections, Sukhbir Singh Badal has once again stirred a politically sensitive and emotionally charged debate by openly promising agricultural and industrial reforms.

Speaking at the February 17, 2026 “Punjab Bachao Rally” in Qadian, he did not limit himself to routine electoral assurances.

He spoke of immediate relief measures tubewell connections, concrete flood-control embankments, land ownership rights for tillers but also of deeper, structural overhauls in agriculture and industry.

I must say at the outset: I admire Sukhbir for reopening this debate. It would have been far easier to avoid the word “reform” altogether in Punjab’s present climate. Yet he chose to step into uncomfortable territory.

In Punjab, however, the word “reform” is not neutral. It carries baggage. It carries fear because we, as a community, prefer to stay in past. It is like dry gunpowder waiting for a spark ready for narrative builders, political opportunists and ideological hardliners to ignite. Above all, it carries the heavy shadow of 2020.

Ghosts of Three Farm Laws Agitation in 2020

When the NDA government led by Narendra Modi introduced the three farm laws in 2020, the Shiromani Akali Dal was part of the ruling alliance at the Centre. The laws sought to liberalise agricultural trade, provide a framework for contract farming, and amend essential commodities regulations to attract private investment.

Initially, SAD defended the legislation, because ethey were part of the decision making. The argument was simple: more markets, more competition, better prices. But Punjab reacted with extraordinary intensity. The public narrative hardened rapidly around three powerful fears MSP would disappear, corporates would capture land, and the mandi system would collapse. Whether those fears were legally precise became secondary, but it was politically instigated was a truth. They were emotionally convincing. Even well-educated intelligentsia buckled to this emotive wave of narrative. Then the story of the farmer agitation taking severe radical and religious overtones is another aspect, which was primary reasons for Modi to step back. Anarchy ruled the roads for more than a year, but the after effects still remain.

As the agitation intensified and farmers camped at Delhi’s borders for over a year, Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned from the Union Cabinet. SAD severed its decades-long alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party. Eventually, the laws were repealed.

The political fallout was severe and lasting. The BJP–SAD relationship deteriorated dramatically. In the 2022 Punjab elections, both parties paid a heavy electoral price, while AAP and Congress capitalised on the agitation’s momentum. A partnership that had survived decades of political turbulence collapsed almost overnight.

That rupture continues to shape Punjab’s political arithmetic.

The Need for Reforms Is Existential

Lets face the truth, no amount of political caution can permanently override economic reality.

Punjab’s agricultural model is under acute structural stress. Groundwater depletion has reached alarming levels. Wheat-paddy monoculture continues despite repeated ecological warnings. Farm holdings are fragmenting. Youth migration is accelerating at a worrying pace. Indebtedness remains a persistent burden on rural families.

India liberalised industry in 1991 under P. V. Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh, but agriculture was largely left untouched. Later, under Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Bt cotton was introduced—a bold and transformative step that significantly improved productivity. Frankly, that remains one of the few decisive agricultural reforms in recent decades.

Beyond that, comprehensive structural reforms have been repeatedly and deliberately postponed due to political sensitivity.

Today, reform is no longer optional. It is existential especially for Punjab, which has historically been and will remain predominantly agrarian due to its geography, demography and social structure that naturally limit large-scale industrialisation.

And reform does not merely mean tinkering with mandi rules. It involves structural, administrative and even constitutional recalibration—both at the state and central levels. Agriculture may be a state subject under the Constitution, but trade frameworks, inter-state and international commerce, national market integration and regulatory architecture inevitably require central cooperation.

Any serious reform roadmap will therefore demand coordination between the State and the Union government. And if one wishes to truly sell reform in Punjab, perhaps the most effective messenger would not be a politician at all, but a “respected” farmer leader. Sometimes, handing the microphone to the right voice matters more than drafting the perfect policy. The price or fee for this job may not be very high —just a promise of a Chairmani would be sufficient

Sukhbir Renews the Need for Agri Reforms

Against this complex backdrop, Sukhbir’s renewed emphasis on agri-industrial reform appears calculated and meaningful. By pairing agriculture with industry, he signals diversification food processing, rural enterprise, value addition, and job creation beyond the traditional farming.

But an important political question naturally arises: is this also an olive branch toward the BJP?

After the dramatic rupture of 2020, relations between SAD and BJP soured tremendously. Yet politics is rarely permanent in its alignments. If serious agricultural reform requires central support and structural adjustments at the Union level, some level of policy merg or even future realignment cannot be dismissed outright.

Sukhbir’s reform speech may not signal an immediate alliance, but it could reopen channels of conversation.

It is also worth recalling that during the 2020 debate, Congress manifestos had contained proposals broadly similar to elements of the farm laws—market reforms, private participation, diversification mechanisms. Yet once the protests gathered momentum, Congress opposed the laws vehemently. Politics overtook policy consistency. That contradiction has not gone unnoticed.

Will This Promise Be a Hot Potato for Sukhbir?

Politically, this territory remains explosive. SAD’s initial support for the farm laws and subsequent withdrawal continues to invite criticism. Opponents will question consistency. Farmer unions remain distrustful.

Touching agricultural reform in Punjab is like handling a live electric wire. It can generate energy—or it can shock the handler.

Personally, I admire Sukhbir Badal for daring to pick up this hot potato again. It takes a measure of political courage to reopen a debate that previously caused visible burns. My only hope is that he does not get scorched once more.

If reforms are to move forward, they must be consultative, gradual and carefully safeguarded. MSP security during any transition must be addressed clearly and convincingly. Crop diversification must be backed by assured, market-linked procurement. Structural change without farmer confidence will collapse under its own weight.

The Opposition Parties Will Find an Excuse to Target Sukhbir Again

It is almost certain that AAP and Congress will attempt to frame this reform language as a replay of 2020. The “corporate capture” narrative can be reactivated within hours. Political rivals seldom resist the temptation to weaponise economic reform for electoral advantage.

But beyond party rivalry lies a deeper ideological struggle. In Punjab, agricultural reform debates are often filtered through a rigid lens shaped by sections influenced by leftist, communist or even Naxal thought, where market participation is instinctively viewed as exploitation. Ideological criticism is valid in a democracy. But when critique becomes one-dimensional, meaningful reform dialogue becomes nearly impossible.

No serious observer can deny that agriculture requires reform. The real challenge is persuading those who instinctively see every reform as a threat rather than an opportunity.

A Crucial Test for Punjab

Punjab stands at a sensitive and decisive moment. Economic pressures are mounting. Political memories remain raw. Sukhbir Badal’s reform pledge sits precisely at that intersection.

If handled with maturity, transparency and broad-based consultation—across farmer unions, economists, industry leaders and political parties—it could mark the beginning of a long overdue structural correction. If reduced to rhetorical posturing or partisan brinkmanship, it could reignite confrontation.

In the final analysis, agricultural reform is not about alliances or ideological labels. It is about Punjab! Its sustainability, groundwater, soil health, farmer income and the future of Punjab’s youth.

Agricultural reform is necessary. Convincing people of its necessity—that is the real reform.

February 18, 2026