Will contest SGPC, assembly polls: Sukhdev Dhindsa

Chandigarh, July 8

A day after being “elected” as the president of the SAD by a faction of dissident Akali leaders, Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa on Wednesday said his group will contest the SGPC and 2022 Punjab Assembly elections.

A faction of dissident Akali leaders on Tuesday had “elected” Dhindsa as the SAD president at a gurdwara in Ludhiana, a move dubbed as “illegal and fraud” by the party.

Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, along with his son and former state finance minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa, was expelled from the SAD in February this year allegedly for “anti-party” activities.

Presently, Sukhbir Singh Badal is the president of the Shiromani Akali Dal.

Dhindsa on Wednesday reiterated that the Sangrur convention held in February had “removed” Sukhbir Singh Badal from the post of the party president.

“We will fight the 2022 Punjab Assembly polls and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee elections,” he added.

Meanwhile, Shiromani Akali Dal’s senior leader Balwinder Singh Bhunder asked Dhindsa to respect democratic norms and abstain from making “false claims”, which will only “lower” his stature.

In a statement here, Bhunder said Dhindsa was a senior politician and he understood how political parties worked and should not try to mislead the people with false claims.

“Forget taking over any party, least of all the SAD,” he said, adding that Dhindsa was himself not a member of his parent party from which he was expelled.

He said Dhindsa had not even participated in the party membership drive last year.

Giving details, the SAD leader said as per the party constitution, subsequent to the membership drive and formation of circle and district units, as many as 540 delegates are chosen covering Punjab, Haryana and other states.

He said these delegates attended the general ‘ijlas’ (convention) of the party which led to the election of Sukhbir Badal as the president of the party.

“Both Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and his son Parminder Singh Dhindsa did not attend the ‘ijlas’, what to speak of challenging the party leadership at the appropriate forum,” said Bhunder.

Dhindsa had rebelled against the party leadership, especially its chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, in a bid to “liberate” the SAD from the Badal family and “revive its lost glory”.

Dhindsa later joined hands with SAD splinter groups, including the SAD (Taksali).

His son Parminder Singh Dhindsa, an MLA from Lehra, had also resigned from the post of the party leader in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, questioning the “lack of internal democracy” within the Akali Dal.

The SAD had earlier alleged that Dhindsa and his son Parminder Dhindsa were being used as “pawns” by the Congress in a bid to weaken the “panthic” party. PTI