Akal Takht panel to kickstart SAD membership drive from March 18

Amritsar : After failing to get support from the Sukhbir Singh Badal faction of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), the Akal Takht-constituted panel on Tuesday announced to start the party’s membership drive from March 18 after holding ‘ardas’ before the highest Sikh temporal seat.

The panel’s decision came after Akal Takht jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh directed the group to start the membership process in line with the December 2 ‘hukamnama’ (decree) issued by the Sikh clergy. This was in response to the Sukhbir faction’s completion of their membership drive, which was alleged to have violated the directives of the Akal Takht.

Following the resignations of Harjinder Singh Dhami as convener of the Takht panel and Kirpal Singh Badungar as a member, five remaining panel members—Gurpartap Singh Wadala, Manpreet Singh Ayali, Santa Singh Umaidpuri, and Satwant Kaur—gathered at the Akal Takht to perform ‘ardas’ and officially announce the recruitment initiative.

The panel emphasised their dedication to the Akal Takht and their commitment to strengthening the political representation of the Sikh community with utmost honesty, sincerity and without any factional bias. Ayali said: “Recruitment for the Shiromani Akali Dal will begin from Akal Takht Sahib on March 18. We will seek cooperation from the Sikh Sangat and Punjabis who support the Akali cause and are dedicated to Akal Takht Sahib to ensure a smooth process.”

The membership drive will not be limited to Punjab but will extend to other states, especially in the national capital. The committee also promised to release the full details of the recruitment programme in the coming days with the process open to all without favouring any faction or individual.

The panel mentioned that the process of printing membership copies would be completed by next week. They also called on all Akali factions to unite and support the initiative, urging the Sant Samaj, heads of sects, taksals, and panthic dals dedicated to the Akal Takht to lend their full cooperation.

Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh, who was not present during the announcement, had previously emphasised that the recruitment drive, as per the December 2 decree, had not yet begun. He had instructed the remaining members of the panel to initiate the process, asserting that the cooperation of SAD leaders was not necessary to implement the Akal Takht’s directive.

The announcement has intensified the crisis within Sikh politics, particularly as the Sukhbir faction has claimed that its recruitment drive had already been completed. All eyes are now on the Badal faction’s response to the panel’s actions.

The December 2 decree of the Akal Takht not only imposed religious punishment (tankhah) on Sukhbir and other SAD leaders for their actions during their time in power (2007–2017), but it also called for the resignation of Sukhbir as SAD president. The decree further directed the SAD working committee to elect new office-bearers within six months and tasked the seven-member panel with overseeing the recruitment process. The decree pointed out that the current leadership had lost its moral right to lead the community.