Political families of Punjab, India

The list of members of political families of Punjab, India. Punjab, since the Partition of India, has been held in the grip of 6 major political families (all Keshdhari Jatt Sikhs), including the Majithias of Amritsar, Badals of Muktsar, Royal family of Patiala, Manns of Sheikhupura, Kairons of Tarn Taran and Royal family of Sarai Naga. There are few other dynastic families, and Punjab has the largest amount of dynastic politicians, a total of 76% of politicians being of political backgrounds. These families have their own political relations which have been changing multiple times over the years and have had various political marriages connecting each other.

The Majithia Dynasty have always been staunch supporters of the Indian National Congress (INC) till Operation Blue Star in 1984, which was when they switched to the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)- a party which was headed and controlled by the Badal Dynasty for most of its existence. The Badal Dynasty have been known to be the last bastion of Sikh politics left in Punjab and they have never switched political parties. The Royal Patiala Dynasty have been known to switch from one party to the other based on circumstances, their long friendship with the INC temporarily ended with Operation Blue Star which was when they shifted to the United Akali Dal led by the Mann Dynasty and then in 1998 once again joined the INC. Since the 2010s they have been divided, amongst each other and major presence faded after 2021. The Mann Dynasty was affiliated with the SAD for most of their history till Operation Blue Star when they created their own party named the United Akali Dal, then in 1994 they formed the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) which the only remaining political party that supports the sovereign state of Khalistan. The Kairon Dynasty have never had a unified political stance and their relevance in modern Punjabi politics has virtually faded to a large degree. Their individual members constantly shift from the SAD to the INC and back. The Royal Sarai Naga Dynasty do not have much political relevance left in Punjab either, although they have never switched political parties and stayed part of the INC. The only times that none of these families did not have control have been with Zail Singh, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and Bhagwant Mann.

The secondary political families are temporary and not traditional they often change with the times. The current ones include the Bajwas of Gurdaspur, Talwandis of Lyallpur, Bittus of Ludhiana and Jakhars of Fazilka who have had a list of less successful politicians. The Bajwas and Bittus have been staunch INC supporters, the Talwandis have always been staunch allies of the SAD and since 2021 they have been supporting the Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt). The Jakhars have never held loyalty to one party and have switched various times from the BJP and INC.

Political families of Punjab, India

Contents

Primary political families

Badal Dynasty

Majithia Dynasty

Royal Patiala Dynasty

Mann Dynasty

Kairon Dynasty

Royal Sarai Naga Dynasty

References