Haryana gurdwara management committee elections likely in Jan

A day after getting assurance from Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini to expedite the process for conducting elections of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC), a delegation of the Haryana Sikh Ekta Dal met Justice HS Bhalla (retd), Chairperson of the Haryana Gurdwara Election Commission on Monday.

The members of delegation discussed the timing of the gurdwara elections and the challenges faced in updating the voter registration. They claimed that Justice Bhalla informed them that preparations for the elections were complete and an official announcement would be made within the next two-three days.

They also said they were told that the elections would be scheduled in January, following Shaheedi Gurpurab in December and Prakash Utsav of Guru Gobind Singh in January. He encouraged the Haryana Sikh Ekta Dal delegation to motivate the Sikh community to maximise voter registration.

Pritpal Singh Pannu, a member of the delegation, said they raised concerns about issues in the voter registration process. “We highlighted discrepancies, including non-Sikh names in certain wards, misplaced entries across wards, and missing village names in the voter list,” he said.

The delegation also emphasised the need to simplify the registration process and requested the appointment of booth-level officers (BLOs), similar to other elections, to manage the registration for the HSGMC.

“Justice Bhalla assured us of solving these concerns and mentioned that Deputy Commissioners in each district would serve as nodal officers,” he added.