Amritpal heats up panthic politics with new party, could make Sukhbir Badal sweat

Punjab’s oldest regional party Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has continued to grapple with an unprecedented crisis, struggling to put its house in order. The party is now gearing up to undertake a month-long membership drive from January 20, which will be followed by its organisational polls at various levels culminating in the election of the party president on March 1.

The SAD’s longest-serving president Sukhbir Singh Badal stepped down from his post on November 16 last year, but his resignation was accepted by the party working committee only on January 10 on the Akal Takht’s directive.

It is another matter that Sukhbir still remains the Akali Dal’s “poster boy”, which was evident at the party’s Maghi Mela conference held in Sri Muktsar Sahib on January 14. On the same day, at a different venue in Muktsar, the supporters of jailed Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh and Faridkot MP Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa launched a new party called Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De).

Addressing this event, Khalsa said,”Since Akali Dal has deviated from its path, hence a new party has been launched. Had Akali Dal been working for the panth (community), there would have been no need to float a new party. It has been done only on public demand.”

Both Amritpal, a radical preacher, and Khalsa, son of one of the assassins of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, are Independent MPs, who pulled off stunning wins from their respective constituencies as Independent candidates in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Amritpal won by over 1.97 lakh votes despite being lodged in Assam’s Dibrugarh jail after being booked under the National Security Act in March last year.

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