Trouble was brewing in Shiromani Akali Dal since Assembly poll drubbing

Tribune News Service

Jupinderjit Singh

Chandigarh, June 25

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is staring at a split with 60 leaders rebelling against party president Sukhbir Singh Badal today. The undercurrent of resentment was brewing within the party since SAD suffered a drubbing in the 2022 Assembly elections and the poor show of the oldest regional party of India in recent Lok Sabha elections was the last straw that broke the camel's back. Apart from losing people's confidence in elections, the issue of the SAD supremo sticking to the top post and ignoring calls for stepping down added to the already existing resentment.

The entire episode has thrown up a curious case of a noted journalist Barjinder Singh Hamdard, who had been siding with Sukhbir. Now, he is siding with the rebellious group. Another surprise element in the entire episode is the silence of Sukhbir Badal's brother-in-law Bikram Singh Majithia. He will be watched keenly in the future course of events considering that he was not seen with either of the factions on Tuesday. Neither did he issue any statement.

In the recent Lok Sabha elections, the party forfeited its deposit in 10 out of 13 seats and won only one, that too only the Badal family's bastion. With each debacle, murmurs of dissent only turned shriller. The top leadership, however, could not read the writing on the wall.

Earlier, it was Dakha MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali, who distanced himself from the programmes of the party. Recently, Charanjeet Singh Brar, political secretary of Sukhbir Badal, opened a front against the party leadership. He had a daily verbal duel with closest aide of Badal, Parambans Singh Bunty Romana, on social media for past few days.

An expert on Akali politics, Jagtar Singh said: "This was waiting to happen. These leaders don't see any future under Sukhbir Badal's leadership. The situation worsened further after the election results in which radical leader Amritpal won from Khadoor Sahib and son of Indira Gandhi's assassin, Sarbjeet Singh Khalsa, won from Faridkot. The rebels feel the Sikh domain do not trust the leadership of present Akali Dal."

A Sukhbir Badal aide argued that this was a BJP conspiracy. "These rebels were holding parleys with the BJP. And the BJP will use them to have a dominant relationship with the new SAD."

Dr Pramod Kumar, director of Chandigarh-based Institute for Development and Communication, supports conspiracy theory. "It is a much bigger game. The plot is evolving. It will have serious implications on Punjab politics and state," he said.

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#Shiromani Akali Dal #Sukhbir Badal