Sukhbir Badal Re-elected as Akali Dal President Amid Internal Discontent

Amritsar, April 12 (NationPress) Despite experiencing internal discontent within the party, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), currently at a low point in Punjab politics, re-elected Sukhbir Badal as its president for the fourth time during its organizational election held at the Teja Singh Samundari Hall here on Saturday.

Sukhbir had previously stepped down from the leadership position, predominantly controlled by his family, on November 16, 2024, after being labeled 'tankhaiya' (guilty of religious misconduct) by the Akal Takht for “compromising Sikh interests”, both in his role as party chief and as the former Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab.

He stood unopposed for the presidency. This election came after a three-month membership campaign, with Sukhbir initially taking on the role of party president in December 2008 during his father, Parkash Singh Badal’s, tenure as Chief Minister.

Following his resignation, Sukhbir appointed his long-time family ally and former Rajya Sabha member Balwinder S Bhundar as the party's Working President.

Many SAD dissidents and various Sikh organizations urged Sukhbir to resign from the presidency due to sacrilege incidents that occurred during the Akali Dal’s governance from 2007 to 2017.

These incidents included the actions of self-styled godman and Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who reportedly mimicked Guru Gobind Singh at the sect's dera in 2007, along with the 2015 sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib.

The public has consistently rejected the SAD in Assembly elections for two consecutive terms, with its representation in the 117-member Legislative Assembly dropping to just three seats in 2022, a significant decline from 15 seats in 2017-2022, marking the lowest ever.

The BJP, which had won three seats in 2017 while allied with the Akali Dal, managed to secure only two seats in 2022. Once a strong ally of the BJP, the Akali Dal was among the first to back the 13-day government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the shortest Prime Ministerial term in Indian history, in 1996.

To restore the beleaguered Akali Dal and avert further leader attrition, Sukhbir, who was once referred to as the ‘Super Chief Minister’ during the party's peak and has interests in business and agriculture, must exert considerable effort.

Known colloquially as ‘Kaka-ji’, a term denoting the often pampered sons of Punjab’s political elite, Sukhbir (63) served as Minister of State for Industries in the Vajpayee administration from 1998 to 1999 and was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2001.

His wife, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who held the Food Processing Industry portfolio in both Modi-led Central governments, is currently raising state-specific concerns in Parliament.

In recent statements, Sukhbir Badal affirmed that the Akali Dal would steadfastly adhere to its core agenda of being pro-Punjab, pro-minority, pro-farmers, and pro-poor.

He emphasized that numerous issues affecting the Sikh community and Punjab remain unresolved, and the party is dedicated to ensuring they are addressed effectively.

Key issues include the release of all Sikh detainees whose sentences were commuted by the Central government to commemorate the 550th Parkash Purb of Guru Nanak Dev, the transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab, and other matters such as securing the status of Panjab University.

The Akali Dal-BJP alliance, formerly known as Jana Sangh, is recognized as the oldest and strongest coalition in contemporary Indian politics.

No other political alliance has endured as many political challenges since March 27, 1970, when Parkash Singh Badal first became the nation’s youngest Chief Minister.

To date, the Congress party has been in power for seven full terms—1952, 1957, 1962, 1972, 1992, 2002, and 2017—in the state. The Akali Dal made history in 1997 by becoming the first non-Congress party to serve a full term in power since independence, repeating this achievement in 2007 and 2012.