Months after facing religious censure from the Akal Takht, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) delegates unanimously re-elected Sukhbir Singh Badal as party president during a meeting at the SGPC headquarters here on Saturday. The decision paves the way for Sukhbir to lead the party into the 2027 state Assembly elections.
The election, held at the Teja Singh Samundri Hall, saw around 500 delegates endorse Sukhbir’s leadership after working president Balwinder Singh Bhundar proposed his name, which was seconded by senior leader Parmjit Singh Sarna. No other candidate was nominated, ensuring an uncontested victory. Returning officer Gulzar Singh Ranike formally approved the appointment. The delegates also authorised Sukhbir to constitute the party’s new working committee.
This marks another chapter in the Badal family’s decades-long dominance over the party. Sukhbir first assumed the presidency in 2008, succeeding his father, the late Parkash Singh Badal, who held the post from 1990 to 2008. However, Sukhbir’s leadership has faced challenges. Most notably, the SAD’s dismal performance in the 2022 state Assembly elections, where it won only three seats, followed by a solitary victory in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
His re-election comes after a brief resignation in November 2024, when the Akal Takht declared him tankhaiya (guilty of religious misconduct) for alleged lapses during the SAD’s decade-long rule (2007-2017). The Akal Takht had mandated reforms, including fresh leadership elections. This development was followed by the unceremonious removal of three jathedars and their replacement with new appointees.
After the election, Sukhbir accused opposition parties and certain religious figures of conspiring against the SAD, particularly after the party severed ties with the BJP in 2020 over the now-repealed farm laws.
“It is unfortunate that after we snapped ties with the NDA, there was a conspiracy to finish the Akali Dal. The managements of Hazur Sahib and Patna Sahib boards were expanded to bring them under government control. The Centre also took over the DSGMC by inducting its leaders into the BJP, besides creating a new gurdwara committee in Haryana,” he said.
Sukhbir said it was unfortunate that the decisions of the Panth were manipulated by evil forces. “The jathedars who should have acted as custodian of Panthic interests chose to play into the hands of such forces. I congratulate the SGPC for freeing the Takhts from the clutches of anti-Sikh forces,” he said.
Calling for unity, he urged party workers and leaders to prepare for the 2027 Assembly elections, vowing to restore Punjab’s governance, curb gangster and drug mafia, which he blamed on the AAP government, and revive industry while safeguarding farmers’ interests. “The next SAD government will eradicate the lawlessness patronised by the current regime,” Sukhbir added.
