Chandigarh: The affairs in Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), India’s oldest regional party which fought for the political and religious interests of Sikhs and farmers in the border state of Punjab, has become deeply entangled after yet another challenge to party president Sukhbir Singh Badal’s authority.
After a string of election defeats in the past eight years, senior party leaders rebelled against Badal, blaming his ‘authoritarian’ leadership for the party’s current existential crisis.
They accused him of compromising the Sikh religious sentiments for political gains besides also taking peasants for granted, leading to major loss of the party’s core support base among Sikh panth (community) and farmers.
The party, which maintained a steady vote share of 25-30% even in its worst political defeats, registered its lowest-ever vote share of 13% in the 2024 general elections.”
Badal, who still holds firm grip over the party, retaliated by expelling eight main rebels from the primary membership of the party on Tuesday (July 30) through the action of a disciplinary committee on the pretext of indulging in anti-party activities.
But a day later on Wednesday (July 31) Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, the party patron and father of one of the expelled rebels, revoked their expulsion, saying that it was against the party constitution.
“I will write to Sukhbir Badal to seek a reply on this. Also, we will call a general house to elect a new party president,” he said, signalling tougher days ahead for Badal.
Even as Badal’s close aide and head of party’s disciplinary committee Balwinder Singh Bhunder claimed that Dhindsa had no authority to stay his decision to expel rebels, the fact that the party has gone haywire is an understatement.
Badal group responded on Dhindsa’s action by expelling him too on Thursday, August 1, claiming that he too was indulged in anti-party activities.
Issuing a statement, the party claimed that Sukhdev Dhindsa was not upholding the honour of his post. He was not only issuing unauthorized statements but was also working against the party.
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Chandigarh based political analyst Pramod Kumar told The Wire that one should not read much into current happenings in Akali Dal except the fact that it is a power struggle within the party emitted from its string of political defeats.
The party has a history of divisions and revolts in the past too, he says adding he has his doubts if leadership change — as demanded by rebels — will revive the party since their own credentials are under a lot of questioning.
But there are those who believe the current crisis in the party is far more serious. Professor Ashutosh Kumar, who teaches political science at Panjab University, Chandigarh told The Wire that it is true that Akali Dal remained faction-ridden in the past and had even seen vertical divisions. However, there was never major erosion in its core social base, which mainly comprises Sikhs as well as farmers especially Jat Sikhs.
He said it is for the first time that the party’s credibility among its core social base has reached its nadir. “While Sikhs still appear angry with the party’s mishandling of sacrilege issue during their government in 2015, farmers too got disconnected with the party due to their inactive role in the farm bill protest against the BJP government at the centre in which SAD was alliance partner,” Ashutosh added.
Besides, other factors such as rural distress and Punjab’s consistent economic downfall also accumulated against Akali Dal, giving people reasons to find alternate political options. The rise of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as well as recent Lok Sabha victories of radical leaders can also be understood in that context, he explained.
Ashutosh underlined that the problem in Punjab right now is constant political alienation of people from mainstream parties, adding that “the performance issue of the AAP government despite its historic mandate in 2022 is contributing to it”.
Meanwhile, a lot more drama is in store in Akali Dal. Rebels will soon start Shiromani Akali Dal Sudhar Lehar in order to connect with masses, which may become a new challenge for SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal.
