Amid setbacks, Sukhbir Badal quits as SAD president

Facing “tankhah” (punishment) from Akal Takht, rebellion within the party and repeated debacles in elections, Sukhbir Singh Badal today resigned from the post of SAD president. His five-year tenure as the party chief was to end on December 14 this year.

The resignation ended his nearly 16-year tenure as the party chief and the reign of the Badal family. Sukhbir’s father and five-time Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was the SAD president from 1995 to January 2008, when he handed over the reins to Sukhbir.

Sukhbir had, on August 29 this year, handed over the charge of the party affairs to senior leader Balwinder Singh Bhundar by appointing him as the working president of the party. Bhundar has also been a loyalist of the Badal family, and he will continue to lead the party till the new president is elected.

Party spokesperson Daljeet Singh Cheema, who announced Sukhbir’s resignation earlier today, said an emergency meeting of the working committee had been called on November 18 at the party headquarters here to consider Sukhbir’s resignation and chart out the next course of action, including the conduct of elections for picking the new president of the party.

Cheema said the last election to the post of president and the organisational structure of the party was held on December 14, 2019. He said as the elections were due next month, Sukhbir had chosen to resign to clear the way for the conduct of this exercise.

“As part of this process, a membership drive will be conducted first, following which circle delegates will be elected. The circle delegates will in turn choose district delegates, who will elect state delegates,” Cheema said.

He said the state delegates, who constituted the general house, would elect the president and the office-bearers as well as the working committee of the party.

Sukhbir had appointed Bhundar as the working chief a day before he was scheduled to appear before Akal Takht in August regarding allegations that a number of his decisions and actions had harmed the Sikh Panth. He was declared a tankhaiya but was not awarded the punishment (tankhah).

He appeared before Akal Takht earlier this week also seeking an early decision on the punishment. During the visit, he suffered a foot fracture and underwent a surgery. He is recuperating at home.

His tenure had a rocking start when the Shiromani Akali Dal became the first party in Punjab to form successive governments in the state.

However, after 2013, the graph started going down due to a rise in cases of drug smuggling and addiction in the state. The major decline started after the sacrilege incidents in 2015 and the “back-door” pardon given by Akal Takht to Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim, who had hurt Sikh sentiments by wearing an attire similar to one worn by Guru Gobind Singh. Later, the party earned the ire of farmers for not opposing the three contentious farm laws.

In July this year, a rebel group of Akali leaders formed the Shiromani Akali Dal Sudhar Lehar and filed a complaint with Akal Takht regarding the mistakes committed by the Badal family.

Clears way for party poll

• SAD spokesperson Daljeet Singh Cheema said the last election to the post of party president was held on December 14, 2019
• He said as the elections were due next month, Sukhbir had chosen to resign to clear the way for the conduct of this exercise

Facing tankhah from Akal Takht

• Sukhbir’s resignation has ended his nearly 16-year tenure as the Shiromani Akali Dal chief and the reign of the Badal family
• Apart from repeated debacles in elections, Sukhbir was facing rebellion within the party and “tankhah” from Akal Takht