Return of Parkash Singh Badal to stage signals deepening crisis in Akali Dal

More significant than what apparently seems to be repositioning on the CAA by the Shiromani Akali Dal  is the return of 5-time chief minister and party patron Parkash Singh Badal to the stage. It signals the worry of the leadership over continuing disquiet and below the surface rumblings. His return appears to be the  part of the damage control exercise in the face of continuing disquiet.

The protest rally at Amritsar on Thursday was the second in succession after Sangrur that Badal has attended. He had stopped active participation earlier and was spending most of the time in his village.

The party has been hit hard with the developments leading to the exit of senior party leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and his son and former finance minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa who are now mobilising the people in general and the Sikhs in particular against the Akali Dal. The Dhindsas have not floated any party yet but have working understanding with Akali Dal Taksali. Dr Rattan Singh Ajlana and his son Bony Ajnala who were part of the Akali Dal Taksali returned to the parent party yesterday.

Badal’s presence at Sangrur was understandable as this is the home district of Dhindsa and the Shiromani Akali Dal had staged a show of strength to neutralise his support base. However, it is his presence at Amritsar rally that is multi-dimensional.

The only interpretation could be that Badal himself has come in the front to check further erosion in the party as there are some more leaders who are disgruntled. The party chief is his son and former deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal. Has Badal Senior doubts over the capability of his son to handle the situation and neutralise the discontent? Significantly, former Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee chief Bibi Jagir Kaur is now seen in the back row. She is no more active the way she used to be before 550^th anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.

It may be mentioned that Badal Senior had earlier returned to the stage in 2018 when the Sikh organisations started indefinite dharna from June 1 demanding action against the culprits responsible for the sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib at Bargari and the related incidents in 2015. In power at that time was the Shiromani Akali Dal.

What had further added to the anger against the Badals at that time was that the Shiromani Akali Dal tried to counter the protests in 2015 by the angry Sikhs by organising parallel party conferences. Two persons had been killed in police firing at the protesters at Behbal Kalan next to Bargari in October 2015. The FIR was registered against the ‘unidentified police’.

It is only now that the Akali Dal has started talking of justice. Sukhbir Badal went to the extent of referring to the two persons who had died at Behbal as the ‘Shaheed’ while speaking at the Sangrur rally. The effort is to recover the party from that damage.

The return of Badal Senior has to be viewed from yet another dimension. Among the regional dynasts, it is only Sukhbir whom his father did not promote as the chief minister. Both Mulayam Singh Yadav and Farooq Abdullah handed over the power to the next generation. Sukhbir was made only deputy chief minister. Of course, he was handed over the reins of the party but that was a half measure in the context of succession.

Sukihbir has been heading the Akali Dal since 2008 but his father has to intervene during the crisis. It is this aspect that is intriguing.

Sukhbir’s wife Harsimrat Kaur is a union minister.

The senior leaders including Dhindsa and others wanted Sukhbir to own responsible for the rout in 2017 Assembly elections and quit. The demand triggered the disquiet against Sukhbir’s leadership leading to the present crisis.

The design of the anti-Akali Dal groups is to mobilise people for the SGPC elections. However, the holding of this election depends upon the Modi government. The SGPC is now under jurisdiction of the Parliament under the Punjab Re-organisation Act, 1966.