After Flop Poll Show, Punjab’s Akali Dal Faces Rebellion as Party Leaders Demand End of Badals’ Rule

After Flop Poll Show, Punjab's Akali Dal Faces Rebellion as Party Leaders Demand End of Badals' Rule

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) could win just three seats in Punjab polls. (PTI/File Photo)

The SAD convened an emergency meeting and expelled Kalka from the primary membership of the party, besides dissolving the party's Delhi unit

News18.com Chandigarh
Last Updated:March 16, 2022, 21:17 IST
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After facing the party's worst-ever performance in recently concluded Punjab assembly polls, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Wednesday faced a major rebellion when its senior leader and Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) president Harmeet Singh Kalka ditched the party and announced to form a separate outfit.

Indicating that a major churning is taking place within the SAD, 26 other members of the DSGMC belonging to the Akali Dal had taken the decision to form a new outfit.

In view of the developments, the Sukhbir Singh Badal-led SAD convened an emergency meeting in the afternoon and expelled Kalka from the primary membership of the party, besides dissolving the party's Delhi unit. It also announced the formation of a five-member ad hoc committee headed by veteran leader Avtar Singh Hit to run the party affairs till a new unit was formed.

SAD spokesman Daljit Singh Cheema announced that Badal also included the names of senior leaders S MPS Chadha and S Gurpreet Singh Jassa in the ad-hoc committee to run the affairs of SAD's Delhi unit.

During a press conference, Kalka said that he would soon announce a separate Akali Dal for Delhi which will only focus on religious affairs. "We are distancing ourselves from the SAD as it failed to take up the issue of the Sikh Panth and the farmers, which have been the core issues behind the formation of the party," he said, adding that though the new unit would be religious, the members would be free to contest elections of their choice.

Moreover, the SAD was also jolted by the resignation of Bathinda-Urban candidate and ex-MLA Sarup Chand Singla. Levelling serious allegations on Badals, Singla said that they had helped their cousin and Congress leader Manpreet Singh Badal in the election from his seat. Interestingly, both Singla and Manpreet lost the seat to the Aam Aadmi Party.

Two Akali leaders and members of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) Baldev Singh Chunga and Kiranjot Kaur have also revolted against the party leadership and called for the "end of rule of the Badals". They also alleged that the SAD has suffered due to the wrong policies of the Badals, including ignoring the demands of the Sikh Panth and joining hands with Deras.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) romped home by winning 92 seats in the 117-member Punjab assembly, decimating the Congress and the SAD-BSP alliance. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) could win just three seats.

Among several political stalwarts, the five-time chief minister, Parkash Singh Badal, and his son SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal faced defeat from their respective seats Lambi and Jalalabad in the state assembly elections, results for which were declared on March 10.

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