Harjinder Singh Dhami re-elected SGPC president for fourth term
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) candidate Harjinder Singh Dhami was on Monday re-elected as the president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) consecutively for the fourth time with a convincing win over former ‘dissident’ SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur for the next annual term 2024-2025.
A total of 142 votes were polled, after seemingly confident Dhami’s proposal of furnishing the election process by ‘raising the hands’ in open, was turned down. While Dhami got 107 votes, Bibi Jagir Kaur could secure only 33. Two votes were declared invalid.
Of the 148 members, 142 turned up to participate in the election process for the top post of the apex gurdwara body at the Teja Singh Samundri Hall in Golden Temple complex here.
Meanwhile, Raghujit Singh Virk was elected as senior vice-president unopposed. Baldev Singh Kalyan and Sher Singh were elected as junior vice-president and general secretary, respectively.
The 11-member executive was also nominated without any confront.
As per Gurdwara Act, 1925, the SGPC body has to be revamped every year by electing its president, senior vice-president, junior vice-president, general secretary and 15-member executive body, unanimously or through voting in the general house, if necessary.
This may probably be the last annual election of the existing body. The Chief Gurdwara Election Commission has declared to hold the General Elections (for a five-year term) of the SGPC. The voting registration process is under way and the SGPC general polls are expected to be held next year.
Dhami has been the SGPC chief for consecutive four terms — 2021-2022, 2022-2023, 2023-2024 and 2024-2025.
He had replaced Bibi Jagir Kaur as the chief in the 2021-2022 election and his tenure as president of the Sikh body remained non-controversial.
Born on August 28, 1956, a Badal family loyalist, Dhami is from Punjab’s Doaba region. He has been the SGPC member from Sham Chaurasi segment since 1996. He hails from Piplan Wala village in Hoshiarpur district.
Generally, the House consists of a total of 185 members, including the 15 co-opted members. At present, the House has 148 members. As many as 31 members have died, while four others have already resigned from the membership and two half lost the voting rights. Five Takht Jathedars and the Golden Temple head granthi are also counted in the House, separately, but they have no voting right.
Today, the house proceedings were attended by Golden Temple’s Head Granthi and Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh, Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib Jathedar Giani Sultan Singh, Akal Takht’s Additional Granthi Giani Malkit Singh.
