Women voters on mind, Akali Dal keeps tainted Sucha Langah at bay

Ravi Dhaliwal

Gurdaspur, May 5

Fearing a backlash from women voters, SAD has refused to admit tainted leader Sucha Singh Langah back into its fold despite his repeated requests.

A two-time MLA, Langah was an SGPC member when his sleaze video surfaced on social media in 2017. Consequently, he was expelled by SAD and was also excommunicated by Akal Takht.

He remained chief of the Gurdaspur SAD unit for three decades and is considered to be a powerful regional leader. Even his detractors admit that he is a force to reckon with in electoral politics and should not be considered a pushover in any way.

Langah contested the 2017 Assembly poll from Dera Baba Nanak and bagged 50,000 votes despite losing.

He was an acolyte of former CM Parkash Singh Badal. In his heyday, he wielded so much influence that civil servants and police officers used to bend backwards to obey his diktats. With Langah’s reputation getting sullied, these very officers now conveniently prefer to maintain a distance from him. It is an open secret that postings of the DCs and SSPs were done at his behest.

Residents still remember the run-in he had with a woman bureaucrat. He showered her with Punjabi expletives following a tiff. Days later, she got herself transferred to Chandigarh.

In the last few weeks, Langah has repeatedly sent reconciliatory messages to the SAD but to no avail.

He and his supporters held a well-attended gathering at Dhariwal yesterday. In his speech, Langah claimed that he would announce his next course of action on May 22. “If he is taken back, SAD will be committing political hara-kiri and is sure to lose a large number of women voters. It is better to let him rave and rant rather than letting him rejoin,” quipped a SAD leader.

Observers say he does not have the resources to float a political party and hence may opt to contest as an Independent. Sources say if this happens, he could eat into a large chunk of Akali votes.

Leaders close to SAD candidate Daljit Singh Cheema said taking him back into the party fold was an unthinkable proposition. Yet another fact that goes against him that none of the three senior leaders, Lakhbir Singh Lodhinangal, Ravi Karan Kahlon and Gurbachan Singh Babbehali are on good terms with him.