Day after Takht diktat on Sukhbir, Akali Dal opts out of byelections

In an unprecedented move, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Thursday decided to opt out of the byelections to four Punjab Assembly segments — Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal and Barnala — scheduled to be held on November 13.

The development came a day after SAD chief Sukhbir Badal failed to get any temporary relief from Akal Takht, which has declared him “tankhaiya” (person guilty of religious misconduct), for the “mistakes” committed by his party from 2007 to 2017. Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh has “barred” Sukhbir from participating in any political activity, including poll campaign.

A first in 32 years

• It will be after 32 years that the Shiromani Akali Dal won’t contest elections
• Earlier in 1992, the party had boycotted the Vidhan Sabha elections

Ban on Sukhbir, not party: Akal Takht

Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh said there was no restriction on the SAD to contest the poll. “Only SAD president Sukhbir Badal, who was declared ‘tankhaiya’, has been told not to participate in any political activity,” the Jathedar said.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the SAD core committee, which was chaired by its working president Balwinder Singh Bhunder.

Senior SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema said, “The recent developments were discussed by the senior leadership. Since Sukhbir Badal is the party president, we cannot go against the Akal Takht’s directions. We thus decided not to contest the byelections.”

He said a resolution to this effect was passed unanimously. Earlier, an Akali delegation had met the Jathedar and urged him to allow Sukhbir to lead the party’s poll campaign.

Cheema claimed the party had decided against contesting the byelections to protect the Panthic interests and maintain the dignity and respect of the Panthic institutions. “I can understand that if we don’t fight the elections, it would dent the party’s image and demotivate the workers. But these are unavoidable circumstances,” he quipped.

“The SAD will, however, contest the SGPC elections. We have decided to field Harjinder Singh Dhammi as our candidate for the post of SGPC president,” Cheema added. Meanwhile, party insiders said since the top leaders knew the outcome, they had “recused” themselves from the poll. The 103-year-old party is facing an existential crisis after successive electoral setbacks. In the 2022 Assembly elections, it won just three of the 117 seats. To add insult to injury, Banga MLA Sukhwinder Sukhi has joined AAP, while Dakha MLA Manpreet Ayali has been keeping away from party activities. The third is Majitha MLA Ganieve Kaur Majithia, wife of Bikram Majithia. Similarly, in the recent Lok Sabha elections, the party could only retain Harsimrat Kaur’s Bathinda constituency, while 10 of the remaining 12 contenders lost their security deposit. The party’s vote share was 13.42 per cent, which was even less than that of BJP’s (18.56 per cent).