SAD won’t contest Punjab bypolls, cites Akat Takht order on Sukhbir Badal
The core committee of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has announced that the party would not contest the bypolls to four Assembly segments in Punjab.
ਸ਼੍ਰੋਮਣੀ ਅਕਾਲੀ ਦਲ ਵਰਕਿੰਗ ਕਮੇਟੀ ਅਤੇ ਜ਼ਿਲ੍ਹਾ ਪ੍ਰਧਾਨ ਸਹਿਬਾਨ ਦੀ ਮੀਟਿੰਗ ਸ. ਬਲਵਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਭੂੰਦੜ ਜੀ ਕਾਰਜਕਾਰੀ ਪ੍ਰਧਾਨ ਦੀ ਅਗਵਾਈ ਹੇਠ ਸ਼ੁਰੂ ਹੋਈ, ਅਹਿਮ ਮਸਲਿਆਂ 'ਤੇ ਹੋਵੇਗੀ ਵਿਚਾਰ ਚਰਚਾ ... pic.twitter.com/l8BT9rv3lg
— Shiromani Akali Dal (@Akali_Dal_) October 24, 2024
The move came a day after SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal failed to get any temporary relief from the Akal Takht -- which has declared him 'tankhaiya' (guilty of religious misconduct) -- for the "mistakes" committed by his party and government from 2007 to 2017.
Senior SAD leader Daljit Cheema, in a press conference said, "After consulting the senior leaders and party workers, the core committee had decided not to field candidates in the bypolls in “the larger interests of the Sikh sangat.”
He said SAD leader Sukhbir Badal had been barred from contesting the elections by the Akal Takht Jathedar, so the party “in larger interest decided not to contest the byelections”.
The bypolls to the four assembly seats -- Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal and Barnala -- will take place on November 13.
These bypolls were necessitated after the MLAs representing the seats were elected to the Lok Sabha.
A delegation of the SAD, which met the Jatehdar on Tuesday, had urged him to exempt Sukhbir for leading the party's poll campaign for the November 13 bypolls to four assembly segments in Punjab.
Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh on Wednesday had said that a 'tankhaiya' (guilty of religious misconduct) remains one until religious punishment is awarded.
The Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhs, on August 30 had declared Sukhbir Badal 'tankhaiya' -- guilty of religious misconduct -- for the "mistakes" committed by his party and its government from 2007 to 2017.
