Akali Dal president and former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal's son Sukhbir Singh Badal is all over Punjab's political scene. The Carolina state university educated management graduate is hopping in his twin-engine chopper.

Clearly Sukhbir does not want to lose out on time by covering distances by road. Some credit for this chopper-hopper should go to Congress Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, who is known for his liberal use of the state government chopper. The chief minister hardly did any road journeys in nearly five years in office. The only time he was seen on the road was recently when he undertook a roadshow to boost the prospects of his party in the assembly polls.

In Sukhbir's case, the chopper is coming in handy for campaigning, attracting crowds and even crisis management. When an Akali Dal worker was allegedly killed by Congress activists in Beas town near Amritsar, Sukhbir air-dashed to lead the Akali protest there and derive maximum political mileage from the incident.

After doing his bit in Beas, he was again in the skies to fulfil other political commitments. Many in Punjab say that while the high-flying chief minister has been 'grounded' by political realities, Sukhbir is really flying high these days.