Unprecedented: Akali formations of all shades compete to become ‘B’ team of the BJP, turn Modi Bhakt

 

Chandigarh: The Akali stream is witnessing unprecedented churning in history. It is for the first time that Akali factions of all shades have extended support to the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Delhi Assembly elections thereby competing to replace Shiromani Akali Dal as alliance partner.

This could be one of the factors that dictated the decision of Shiromani Akali Dal Badal (the original Sanghi Dal) president Sujkhbir Singh Badal to announce unconditional support to its alliance partner despite having been ditched in Delhi.

This is happening at the time when present Akali Takht acting Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh has taken a position against the RSS, the paternal body of the BJP.

It may be mentioned that the Akali Dal had earlier withdrawn from the Delhi elections after the two traditional partners in Punjab failed to arrive at the understanding in the national capital. The Akali Dal had taken the position that the BJP was dictating it to change its stand on CAA. This public stand of the Akali Dal was incomprehensible as the party had supported the legislation in Parliament. The party had stated while supporting the CAB that Muslims should also be included. It was the same position that the party continued with outside.

While announcing withdrawal from the scene, the Akali Dal did not state its position giving rise to the speculation that the relationship between the two had entered the tense phase.

This is when the competition started in Delhi to support the BJP. The Delhi Akali Dal headed by Paramjit Singh Sarna had already given the signal that it had no reservation on the issue of joining hands with the BJP in Delhi. The Jago Party headed by former Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee chief Manjit Singh GK declared support to the BJP hours before BJP chief J P Nadda landed at Delhi residence of Sukhbir in Delhi. It was after this meeting that was otherwise a formality that Sukhbir ended all speculation.

Rebel Akali leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa a day earlier had called on the BJP chief triggering speculations on the emerging permutations and combinations. Moreover, the local Sikh leaders in Delhi had already taken positions in the electoral arena. They are concerned with their own survival. The concerns of the Sikhs outside Punjab are different and the Akali Dal has ceased to represent them.

The BJP in Punjab too has been giving out signals for months that all was not well with the alliance with the Akali Dal  that is now the oldest after Shiv Sena having parted company. The signals have been loud and clear that the BJP had been toying with the idea of working out new arrangement as the perception had been deepening that there was little sign of revival of Akali Dal among its core constituency that is the Panthic stream.

Interestingly, Sukhbir, who addressed his party conference in Faridkot today, did not attack his rival Akali factions as the ‘B’ team of the Congress. He also skipped the issue of CAA and Delhi polls.

Every leader who has parted company with Parkash Singh Badal during the last two decades has been attacked as the ‘B’ team of the Congress, including the party stalwart Gurcharan Singh Tohra. Now all are the ‘B’ team of the BJP, both officially and unofficially.

The Akali Dal president today coined new attack dubbing the Akali Dal (Taksali) as ‘Jaali’ (fake). The ‘B’ team of the Congress weapon stands blunted.

The choice of the BJP to select its ‘B’ team in the Sikh space has been widened.

The BJP can exercise this choice by going in for elections to the general House of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. The decision has to be taken by the union home ministry as the jurisdiction of the Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1925 passed by the Punjab Legislative Council has shifted to Parliament under the Punjab Re-organisation Act, 1966 with the SGPC having become inter-state body corporate.

The election would depend upon the adjudication of the case with the Supreme Court challenging the decision of Haryana to have a separate gurdwara panel. Going by the newspaper reports, Punjab has decided to reposition itself on this issue. This stand can facilitate early adjudication.

Mobilisation has already been on for the last several months in the Panthic stream for the SGPC polls whenever held. Various groups are already at work.

And now there is no ‘B’ team of the Congress.