Badal reaches out to old allies in bid to revive itself politically

Badal reaches out to old allies in bid to revive itself politically

Chandigarh: In a bid to revive itself politically, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is attempting to mend its fences with its former allies who had quit the party over different reasons during recent times.

The list of those who had distanced themselves from the party due to different reasons include its old ally, the BJP, former Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (DSGMC) president Manjit Singh GK, senior leader who split and formed SAD (Sanyukt) Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and former president of the SGPC Bibi Jagir Kaur.

The party won just 15 of the 117 seats in the 2017 Assembly elections and fared even worse when it won just three seats in the last elections (2022). Reaching out to the public, party president Sukhbir Badal, earlier this month, sought forgiveness from the Sikh Sangat for the sacrilege incidents that occurred during the SAD-BJP regime in 2015.

Recently, Home Minister Amit Shah had snubbed SAD MP Harsimrat Badal over the issue of ‘Bandi’ Singhs’. He said Shah had stated that the mercy petition could not be considered as it was submitted by a ‘third party’ (Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee) and not by Rajoana’s family members. His words are seen as a strong statement in the direction of the BJP demanding a much higher share in the number of seats in case they went in for the alliance with their former ally. The BJP leadership was not happy with the earlier share of just 23 of the total 117 seats.

There are also talks about the possibility of the SAD (Sanyukt) joining its parent cadre. Confirming the development, Dhindsa said, “We had a meeting at the senior level in our party. I have asked the leaders to go back to their constituencies and get feedback before we decide.”

After Sukhbir Badal’s appeal to all leaders, who had left the party during the past few years, to rejoin the party, Bibi Jagir Kaur said that she was ready to work for the revival of the party if Badal quit as the party chief and the party was ready for reforms. She was expelled from the party last November after she announced the formation of the Shiromani Akali Panth Board to “liberate the Panthik institutions from the monopoly of one (Badal) family”.

A senior party leader said that, “We are working to get all like-minded people with us on board against the forces hell bent on destroying the image of a prosperous Punjab.”