SAD wins SGPC polls, but reduces chances of making up with BJP

JALANDHAR: SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Wednesday managed to retain his control on Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) as party nominee Harjinder Singh Dhami won the election by defeating party rebel Bibi Jagir Kaur. However, in its efforts to win the election, the SAD also ended up fanning anti-BJP sentiments among Sikhs and reducing its chances of an alliance with the saffron party ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Up to the farm agitation of 2020, SAD and BJP had been traditional allies, with Sukhbir's wife and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Badal being a part of PM Narendra Modi's Cabinet. Despite the win, SAD's talk against the saffron party has continued even after the election. For SAD, the latest SGPC victory might have come at the cost of losing a senior leader and 20 SGPC members. However, it has also quietened dissenting voices within the party.
According to Akali insiders, Sukhbir's allegations of BJP interference was the final weapon in his armoury for SGPC polls as Sikhs strongly disliked interference by non-Sikh parties. In reply to Sukhbir's allegations, Kaur had hit back, saying it was the Badals who had an alliance with BJP for long and enjoyed berths in the Union Cabinet.
BJP has been trying to win over Sikhs for the past few years. Modi has also underlined his special relationship with Sikh community. It is being felt both in the SAD and BJP that it is difficult for them to win seats without an alliance as it became clear in the last assembly elections, which both parties contested separately and suffered humiliating defeats.
This fresh fanning of anti-BJP sentiments during SGPC elections has further reduced the chances of an SAD-BJP alliance before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, even as nothing is impossible in politics.
"Though relations between SAD and BJP are already sour, this fresh campaign against BJP has added to the bitterness. Though both parties are not talking about any alliance, this would become inexplicable as, when it comes to interference in religious affairs, these can't be brushed aside like other political issues," said a senior BJP leader.
Earlier too, Badals have been successfully using terms like "agents" or "B team of Congress" for Akali leaders who challenged their control on SGPC. But then Congress has been a permanent and bitter rival of Akali Dal. Though Sukhbir has gotten a crucial reprieve with the SGPC win, it has come at the cost of losing not only a senior leader like Bibi Jagir, but also at least 20 SGPC members. Earlier, 22 was the maximum number of votes polled to a rival candidate in SGPC. This time, Kaur got 42 votes. She happens to be the most senior leader in Akali Dal in Doaba region.
The biggest challenge of regaining lost ground in Sikh electorate still remains for Sukhbir and Akali Dal, which goes much beyond an SGPC house packed with those picked up by Badals themselves 11 years ago.