Twists and turns: Giani Harpreet back in race for SAD chief
presidency and endorsed the candidature of
, the dissident Akali camp and the five-member committee, in a joint meeting at Chandigarh on Saturday, decided to propose his name for unanimous election.
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However, the decision was not taken without hiccups.
If everything goes well at the Aug 11 election meeting, Giani Harpreet Singh will be the first SAD president from a scheduled caste background. Earlier, he was the acting Jathedar of Akal Takht.
Sources privy to the deliberations in the meeting revealed that it was also decided to have a Panthic Talmel Committee, which would be headed by Satwant Kaur. Its main task would be to bring Panthic forces onto a common platform.
As Giani Harpreet Singh's announcement on Friday morning through his social media accounts jolted the entire dissident Akali camp, its senior leaders worked to persuade him to accept the post. Satwant Kaur, a member of the five-member committee, is the daughter of the then All India Sikh Students Federation President Amrik Singh, who was a close associate of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and was killed in Operation Blue Star.
Akal Takht formed a seven-member committee in its December 2 pronouncement, but two of its members - Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee President Harjinder Singh Dhami and former President Kirpal Singh Badungar - stayed away from its function on one pretext or another.
It is learnt that the first leaders of the erstwhile SAD Sudhar Lehar held a meeting with Giani Harpreet Singh in Chandigarh and persuaded him to accept the post.
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Then a meeting at a separate place was held in which Sudhar Lehar leaders and the five-member committee, barring Satwant Kaur, participated. In this meeting, committee members Manpreet Singh Aiyali, Iqbal Singh Jhoondan, and Santa Singh Umaidpuri strongly argued for having Satwant Kaur as the new president.
From the committee, Gurpartap Singh Wadala supported the former Jathedar.
Sources said that those who supported Satwant argued that with her at the helm, they could easily take along MP Amritpal Singh's camp, and he was still popular. However, after a discussion involving arguments and counter-arguments, the majority of the leaders put their weight behind Giani Harpreet Singh, and it was decided to propose his name for unanimous election.
It is learnt that a phone call to Giani Harpreet Singh by a leader on Thursday night, conveying a formula that appeared to undermine him, rattled him, and he decided to quit the race.
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