Return of the natives: As LS election nears, SAD eyes return of Dhindsa, Bibi
Party hopes the two leaders will be back in the SAD before its Punjab Bachao Yatra launch on February 1; the two leaders, however, are indecisive and are taking time to make a final decision on their comeback
After Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal’s recent call to the Panthic (Sikh community) leaders to unite in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, the party is eying the return of former second-in-command Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and senior-most woman leader and former Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Bibi Jagir Kaur into the party fold.
The two leaders, however, are indecisive and are taking time to make a final decision on their comeback.
In a sign that the Akali Dal is trying to recover lost ground in Punjab by putting up a united front, SAD spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema said on Wednesday that the party is waiting for both its “respectable leaders with open arms”. “Surely, the results (of recent discussions) will be positive very soon,”
Cheema said, confirming that party representatives were in touch with both leaders on a daily basis and issues they raised would be resolved.
Dindsa wanted the party president to seek forgiveness at Akal Takht (the highest temporal seat of Sikhs) for the sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib that took place in 2015 when SAD was in power in alliance with the BJP, while, Bibi wants the party to adhere to the religious ethos and make SGPC an independent body, without the any political interference.
Reports of the return of the two leaders come a month after Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Managing Committee (DSGMC) president Manjit Singh GK rejoined the SAD.
Though GK’s return does not impact the party in Punjab, in Bibi, it sees religious heft, while Dhindsa will bring formidable force to the Akali camp.
The party hopes the two leaders will be back in the SAD before its Punjab Bachao Yatra launch on February 1. During the 40-day yatra, the SAD plans to cover 40 of the 117 assembly constituencies, particularly in Majha and Doaba.
Two months ago, Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa had hinted about his return after taking his supporters into confidence, but so far he has not taken the leap of faith, while Bibi Jagir Kaur said, “I did not go out of the party, rather it’s the party that suspended my membership.”
Bibi Jagir Kaur had been placed under suspension in 2022 before the annual SGPC election for going against the party mandate of contesting the gurdwara body elections. She wanted to be the party’s nominee for the SGPC presidential poll on November 9 last year.
With no response from Sukhbir, she announced she would contest independently and meet SGPC members to garner support. The disciplinary committee, led by former minister Sikandar Singh Maluka, had asked her to clear her stand within two days or face eviction from the party.
“I am willing to return but there are some issues that need to be addressed first, which I am discussing with the party leaders,” Bibi said.
At the Maghi Mela in Muktsar on January 15, Sukhbir had renewed his appeal to the two leaders to return to the party for its revival and the cause of Punjab and Punjabiyat. He sought forgiveness at Akal Takht on December 15, expressing regret for the failure to apprehend individuals responsible for the sacrilege incidents in the state in 2015. “Submitting myself to the Guru’s will in the precinct of Sri Akal Takht Sahib, the highest religio-temporal seat of the Sikh qaum (community), I sincerely and unconditionally seek forgiveness of the Khalsa Panth that the heinous act of sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji happened during the Akali government. I also apologise that we couldn’t apprehend and punish the culprits during the brief remaining part of our tenure,” he had said on December 15.
SAD’s fightback for political space
The SAD, founded in 1920, was hit politically after a series of sacrilege incidents in 2015 when the SAD was in power in alliance with the BJP. The party’s 15 seats shrunk to three in the 2022 assembly elections.
Dhindsa, once number two in the SAD as secretary general and confidant of five-time CM and Akali patriarch Parkash Singh Badal, had quit the party over its poor performance in the 2017 assembly elections. He had also stepped down as the party’s Rajya Sabha MP, while his son, Parminder Singh Dhindsa, who was finance minister in the SAD-BJP government, also resigned from the SAD.
Dhindsa Senior, who had been a vital link between the SAD and the BJP, had floated the SAD (Sanyukt) and contested the 2022 assembly elections in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party, but drew a blank.
He had asked Sukhbir to seek forgiveness from the Akal Takht (the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs) as a pre-condition to return to the SAD. When Sukhbir did so last month, he said: “I formed a five-member committee to take feedback from our supporters. They have left the decision on me but I decide on the basis of feedback from the committee.”
There are reports that SAD might ally with the BJP again after the Akali party severed ties with its ally of 23 years in September 2020 over the issue of (repealed) three farm laws as not acceptable to the farmers. There have been rumours floating for re-stitching of the alliance but there is no clarity from the two parties. After cutting ties with the BJP, SAD entered into an alliance with Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in 2021. Both parties contested state assembly polls but with a below-par performance as SAD won three seats and BSP won one. Both parties have announced to contest the upcoming parliament polls in coalition.
