File photo of former Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal. | Photo Credit: ANI
Even as Sukhbir Singh Badal’s resignation as president of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has been accepted – a move seen as ‘course-correcting’ to revive the century-old party – the work has been done to revive the party. it can be difficult.
The party’s rebels plan to launch a new outfit, and Lok Sabha MP Amritpal Singh, a pro-Khalistan (Sikh-ruled state) broadcaster, has announced the launch of his political party on January 14.
For the SAD, which often claims to be the sole representative of the Sikh community, both incidents could mean a split in its vote bank, which has already eroded over the years to the point where the party is facing an existential crisis. The party’s discontent can be seen in the recent Lok Sabha elections, where it won only one seat out of 13 parliamentary seats. Earlier, the party faced electoral problems in the 2017 and 2022 Assembly elections.
As the SAD saw its gradual decline in Punjab, where Sikhism and issues have long been central to political discourse, the perception among several Sikhs was that under the rule of the “Badal family,” the party had moved away from the issues surrounding Badal. Sikh’pants,‘ deviating from its main idea of giving voice to Sikh affairs. In the past, the apology of Mr. Badal about his “mistakes” and his asking for forgiveness’panties‘, the team appeared to be making a serious effort to gain their advantage’panthic‘ supports but could not cut ice with its voters.
On January 14, Mr. Amritpal, who is currently in jail under the National Security Act (NSA), will deliver his speech. ‘Down‘ and a political party centered on ‘Punjab’. Apart from that, the SAD rebels have announced that they will come out with a new outfit in the coming days. Their presence can damage the SAD recovery system.
Rajdev Singh Khalsa, former Member of Parliament for Punjab’s Sangrur and Mr Amritpal’s legal adviser, said. Hindu, “We will launch the party on January 14 at Sri Mukstar Sahib. We are yet to finalize the name of the party, but it will include ‘Akali Dal’. Amritpal Singh will be the president of the party, while his father Tarsem Singh will be the acting president. The party’s views will focus on Punjab and Panth-centric issues. Our party will be for the welfare of everyone”.
Most notably, in the Lok Sabha elections of 2024, in two parliamentary constituencies of Punjab, the victory of independents – Mr. Amritpal and Sarabjeet Singh – the son of the assassin of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Beant Singh – was seen in political circles as a subtle growth of obesity. parts of the State. Earlier, the victory of Simranjit Singh Mann, a known hardline Sikh leader and chief of SAD (Amritsar), from Punjab’s Sangrur in the 2022 by-elections, gave a message that hardliners are getting stronger. One reason why the radical gained ground was due to the instability of the SAD.
At that time, the Shiromani Akali rebel leaders were unhappy that the party was not fully following the directives of the Akal Takht – the interim supreme seat of the Sikhs. Former MP and SAD rebel leader Prem Singh Chandumajra told A Hindu that if the party does not implement the directives of the Akal Takht, they will be forced to consider introducing a new outfit. “The SAD leadership has formed a committee affiliated with it to reorganize the party against the one formed by the Akal Takht, which undermines the authority of the Akal Takht. If on January 14, the party does not completely follow the decision of Akal Takht, we will talk to like-minded people to cooperate to change the party,” he said on Monday.
The radical Sikh outfit Dal Khalsa also in its statement pointed out that the Akal Takht’s decision of December 2, which gave Mr. it is not accepted by letter and spirit.
Dal Khalsa leader Kanwar Pal Singh said that without firmly asserting that he will implement the instructions of the Akal Takht, the situation will return to the original state.
Published – January 14, 2025 04:15 am IST