Punjab: Jolt to Sukhbir as Giani Harpreet's elevation formalises split in SAD

Hindustan Times

5 days ago

The elevation of Giani Harpreet Singh as head of the breakaway faction has come as a jolt to Sukhbir Singh Badal and has formalised the vertical split in the Akali Dal. The development has also compounded the problems and challenges for Sukhbir, who is trying to revive the party's political fortunes in the wake of a series of poll debacles in the assembly and Lok Sabha elections. After being elected as president of the breakaway faction of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), former Takht Damdama Sahib jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh at the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar on Monday. (Sameer Sehgal/HT)
The formation of rebel factions is not a new phenomenon in Akali politics, but the present scenario is different from the past.
With the party facing an existential crisis, having been reduced to three MLAs in Vidhan Sabha and lone MP in Lok Sabha, the party leadership despite having atoned for past mistakes after undergoing tankhah, has not been able to come clear from the blame of sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib that took place in 2015 when SAD was leading the government.
The biggest challenge for Sukhbir would be to negate the criticism from the newly elected president of the breakaway faction led by ex-jathedar, Giani Harpreet Singh. Giani Harpreet has been a vocal critic of SAD leadership and, in most of his public addresses, blames Sukhbir for the downfall of the party and the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs, Akal Takht.
'Now, as the head of a faction, he has got the legitimate right to speak against the Badals,' said a political observer, who didn't wish to be named.
Many in the Akali circles say the breakaway faction has emerged out of the panthic ethos and traditions as mandated by Akal Takht. The faction has taken shape after a genuine process of enrolling members, thus it will make it difficult for the Sukhbir faction to brush away the challenge.
Sukhbir was quick to fire the first salvo during a rally against the Punjab government's (now withdrawn) land pooling policy in Patiala.
Claiming that Giani Harpreet had conspired to throw him and his family out of the party, Sukhbir said: 'Harpreet Singh has entered into a conspiracy with anti-Sikh and anti-Punjab central agencies to divide and weaken the Khalsa Panth, Punjab and Akali Dal in league with disgruntled elements.'
Sukhbir went on to add that a tailor-made complaint was made as part of this plot to throw him out of the panth, and Giani Harpreet has defied the December 2 edict of Akal Takht, which called for unity between the SAD factions.
'It is a known fact that Giani Harpreet unleashed the conspiracy against me even after I had bowed my head before Sri Akal Takhat Sahib and owned full responsibility for any wrong done by anyone during the Akali government. My total surrender before Akal Takhat Sahib had no meaning for him. These elements colluded with the state police to eliminate me physically, and that too when I was performing sewa in the holiest of holy shrines of the Sikh religion, Harmandar Sahib,' Sukhbir said.
While SAD leader Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal claimed that Giani Harpeet was always aspiring to become party president since he was Akal Takht jathedar.
The other front that the faction has opened up is the formation of the panthic council. While Giani Harpreet will be the political face of the faction, Bibi Satwant Kaur, who was part of the five-member committee, has been made head of the panthic council, a rare experiment in Akali politics.
The council mandate is to work with different factions and religious bodies on a common platform and challenge SAD's hegemony in SGPC.
Faction eyes showdown during SGPC polls
The breakaway faction has roots in incidents of sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib in 2015, for which the Badal-led SAD, which was in power, was blamed.
The faction is eying the impending SGPC elections as the first challenge to the Badal-led majority in the gurdwara body.
Soon after becoming the head, Giani Harpreet Singh announced that the faction would target the upcoming SGPC elections.
'If the faction is victorious, it will mean the end road for Sukhbir-led SAD in Akali politics,' he said. Giani Harpreet also raised apprehensions over the conduct of gurdwara body polls and said, 'If elections are not held, it would mean that the BJP government is colluding with Badal-led SAD.'
Giani Harpreet faces leadership test
Up until now, Giani Harpreet Singh, while criticising Sukhbir, was just a lone religious figure with no strings attached, but now faces the task of running the party. 'Now, he is supposed to run a party, give vision and manage day-to-day programmes, which is not an easy task,' said a political commentator.
According to Amanpreet Singh Gill, a professor of political science in Khalsa College, New Delhi, the question is, how will the new Akali faction under Giani Harpreet Singh win the confidence of Punjabi Hindus and other sections outside the Panthik fold?
'In the absence of such confidence, the party will not be able to emerge as a major player in electoral politics. It will remain as a party with ideology, but without a significant vote share,' he said, adding that it will be interesting to see how the new faction will solve the puzzle of Panth and Punjabiat.
(With inputs from Karam Prakash, Patiala)