Amid rebellion, Sukhbir Badal reorganises 23-member Akali Dal core committee
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, August 4
Amid rebellion by a section of party leaders who have launched the “Shiromani Akali Dal Sudhar Lehar”, Sukhbir Badal on Sunday reorganised the party’s core committee, the outfit’s highest decision-making body.
The 23-member core committee has been reorganised days after Sukhbir Badal dissolved the previous panel.
The prominent members of the panel are Harjinder Singh Dhami, Balwinder Singh Bhunder, Naresh Gujral, Maheshinder Singh Grewal, Daljit Singh Cheema and Bikram Singh Majithia, besides others.
The rebels have been demanding that Badal should step down as the SAD chief in view of the party’s defeat in the recently held Lok Sabha elections. The leaders who raised the banner of revolt included former MP Prem Singh Chandumajra, former SGPC chief Bibi Jagir Kaur, former MLA Gurpartap Singh Wadala and former ministers Parminder Singh Dhindsa and Surjit Singh Rakhra.
Recently, the rebel leaders had formed a 13-member presidium to work with convener of the “Shiromani Akali Dal Sudhar Lehar” (reforms movement) Gurpartap Singh Wadala. They said the SAD was going through a rough patch and facing a serious existential crisis and it was a matter of concern for the Sikh Panth. Efforts were being made through the reforms movement to take the SAD out of that crisis, they had said.
Since 2017, the SAD’s electoral graph has been going down. In the 2022 state Assembly elections, the party could win only three seats and in the recently held Lok Sabha poll, it won only one seat (Bathinda) and its candidates lost deposits on 10 seats.
Rebels formed presidium
- Recently, the rebel leaders had formed a 13-member presidium to work with convener of the “Shiromani Akali Dal Sudhar Lehar” Gurpartap Singh Wadala
- The rebels said SAD was going through a rough patch and facing a serious existential crisis, which was a matter of concern for the entire Sikh Panth
