Chandigarh: After months of being under attack from within his party, Sukhbir Singh Badal resigned as president of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Saturday “to pave the way for the election” of his successor.
Dr Daljit Singh Cheema, general secretary of the party, confirmed the same in a post on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter). He added that Badal’s resignation will be considered during an emergency meeting of the party on 18 November.
Highly-placed sources in the Akali Dal told ThePrint that Badal’s resignation has come as a preemptive measure to be able to receive the punishment of the Akal Takht “humbly” whenever it is announced.
Sources added that although the majority of the party was standing behind Badal, it was felt that stepping down as president at this stage would be a strategically sound move to quell voices of dissent demanding Badal’s ouster. Once Badal has completed his punishment given by the Akal Takht he would be reappointed as the party chief, sources added.
On 30 August, Badal was declared ‘tankhaiya’ (a sinner, guilty of religious misconduct) by the Akal Takht, the highest temporal body of the Sikhs.
Acting on a complaint by a group of dissenters from within the party, the Akal Takht found Badal guilty of taking decisions that led to “severe depletion of the image of the Sikh community, deterioration of the condition of the Shiromani Akali Dal and damaging Sikh interests”.
The Akal Takht had added that these decisions were taken by Badal in his capacity as deputy chief minister of Punjab and Akali Dal chief.
The SAD President S Sukhbir Singh Badal submitted his resignation to the working Committee of the party today to pave the way for the election of new President. He thanked all the party leaders & workers for expressing confidence in his leadership and extending wholehearted…
— Dr Daljit S Cheema (@drcheemasad) November 16, 2024
Badal remained the deputy CM from 2009 to 2017, and had been the party’s president since 2008.
While declaring him a tankhaiya the Akal Takht jathedar Giani Raghuveer Singh had asked Badal to “atone for his sins” like a “humble Sikh in the presence of the Guru Granth Sahib, the five high priests and the Sikh community, failing which he will continue to be a sinner of the Sikh religion”.
Reacting to the decision, Badal had said that he accepted the decision and would present himself for accepting his tankha and atone for his “sins”.
All eyes are now on the Akal Takht jathedar who has to take the final call of what happens next. Giani Raghuveer Singh along with four other high priests (heads of the four takths or seats of power) of the Sikhs is yet to announce a punishment for Badal.
Sources add that the jathedar could bar Badal from regaining control of the party for some time as part of the punishment.
Elections for the post of president, office bearers and working committee of SAD are due on 14 December, when the five-year term of the current leadership ends.
The Akal Takht was expected to announce a punishment for Badal for him to atone for his sins and get the tag of tankhaiya removed. However, despite the passage of over two months the same has yet to be declared.
On Wednesday, Badal had appeared before the Akal Takht and handed over a request to the secretariat to expedite his case.
Ties between the Akali Dal and Akal Takht are at an all-time low.
In November, the jathedar of Takth Damdama Sahib Giani Harpreet Singh had offered to resign his position after what he alleged was a series of threats issued to him by Akali leader Virsa Singh Valtoha.
Giani Harpreet Singh had alleged that Valtoha called him an “agent” of the BJP and the RSS, and threatened him with dire consequences.
The Takth Damdama jathedar was supported by Giani Raghuveer Singh who said that he too had been threatened by Valtoha.
The Akal Takth jathedar ordered the Akali Dal to immediately remove Valtoha from the party—a direction the party complied with by cancelling Valtoha’s membership of the party for 10 years.
Valtoha, however, maintained that Giani Harpreet Singh had been continuously hobnobbing with BJP leaders who were interfering in the religious affairs and institutions of the Sikhs.
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‘Need to revive party from zero it has become’
On the eve of being declared tankhaiya, Badal had handed over the charge of party president to senior leader Balwinder Singh Bhunder.
Given his tankhaiya status, the Akal Takht had last month debarred Badal from contesting the forthcoming byelections for four assembly constituencies in Punjab. While it did clarify that there was no bar on the party to participate in the elections, the party under Bhunder’s leadership decided not to field candidates in the bypolls.
Badal’s resignation comes in the wake of a deepening crisis within the SAD leadership, with a rebel group of the party demanding that Badal step down as president and take complete responsibility for SAD’s worsening electoral performance since the 2017 assembly elections.
In July, the group led by Gurpartap Singh Wadala had launched the “Shiromani Akali Dal Sudhar Lehar” to reform the Akali Dal. Earlier, Wadala along with senior Akali leaders Bibi Jagir Kaur, Prem Singh Chandumajra and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa had given a written complaint to the Akal Takht against Badal.
Reacting to Badal’s resignation, Wadala said Saturday that had Badal resigned following the results of the assembly elections it would have saved the party the ignominy that it has suffered since.
“Even if the decision is delayed, at least it has been taken,” said Wadala in a statement issued to the press. “We appeal to the Akal Takht jathedar to lead the community and show the way forward.”
He added, “There is a need to revive the party from the zero that it has become. We request the Akal Takht jathedar Giani Raghuveer Singh to ensure that the party is led by those who have both panthik wisdom and political wisdom to take the party out of the current crisis.”
Wadala also said that major political changes were afoot in the party and the “Shiromani Akali Dal Sudhar Lehar” would soon call a meeting to discuss the future course of action.
Sukhbir’s ascension to power
Badal took over the reins of the Akali Dal in 2008 when his father Parkash Singh Badal was chief minister of Punjab. Elder Badal handed over the party presidency to Sukhbir, taking the post of chief patron for himself.
Sukhbir Badal has been elected party president unanimously twice since.
His elevation in 2008 had come as a surprise to several senior leaders of the party as it was generally believed that Sukhbir who had been a Member of Parliament twice would remain focused on national politics while Parkash Singh Badal’s mantle would be carried forward by his nephew Manpreet Singh Badal who was being groomed for state politics.
Manpreet Badal, however, was expelled from the party in 2010 and went on to form his own outfit (People’s Party of Punjab) before joining the Congress and is currently in the BJP.
Other voices of protest from within the party against Sukhbir’s leadership were quelled, at least temporarily, when he led the party to a stunning victory for a second consecutive term in power in 2012.
But the party imploded after its defeat in the 2017 assembly elections with senior leaders laying the blame at Sukhbir’s door. Although the party united for the 2022 assembly elections, the show of unity was short-lived following another humiliating electoral defeat.
Also Read: Uniting factions to excommunicating top leaders, how Akal Takht has played arbiter in Punjab politics