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Chief Khalsa Diwan polls: Dr Nijjar retains top post, oppn secures honorary secy post
For the presidential post, a total 397 votes were polled. With 247 votes, Dr Nijjar defeated his contender and former IRS officer Surinderjit Singh Pal by 97 votes. The election was also held for two posts of vice-presidents, two honorary secretaries and one resident president.
Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjar, AAP MLA from Amritsar South, retained the top post in the Chief Khalsa Diwan (CKD) elections held on Sunday, while the opposition succeeded in securing one of the key posts, honorary secretary.
For the presidential post, a total 397 votes were polled. With 247 votes, Dr Nijjar defeated his contender and former IRS officer Surinderjit Singh Pal by 97 votes. The election was also held for two posts of vice-presidents, two honorary secretaries and one resident president.
Except for one post of honorary secretary, all other posts were won by Dr Nijjar’s panel. A candidate of Pal’s group, Ramneek Singh Freedom, became honorary secretary, defeating Ajit Singh Basra by 63 votes. Sawinder Singh Kathunangal retained the second post of honorary secretary.
Santokh Singh Sethi and Jagjit Singh Bunty were elected as vice-presidents. They defeated Amarjit Singh Banga and Sarabjit Singh respectively, while in the contest for post of resident president, Kuljit Singh Sahni defeated Sukhdev Singh Mattewal. Elections were conducted under the observance of the district administration.
Dr Nijjar expressed gratitude to the CKD members for their continued faith in his team. He assured them that his team is are committed to enhancing the institutions under the organization’s care. He emphasised that his team upholds the ideals of Bhai Vir Singh, the legendary Punjabi writer, Sikh preacher, and the founder of CKD. “We are determined to elevate the organisation to greater success,” he said.
The general elections are held after five years. Both the groups carried out extensive campaigns to woo the CKD members who belong to different parts of the country. Dr Nijjar first became the president in the May 2022 bypolls, which were necessitated by the passing away of the then president Nirmal Singh. A noted radiologist Dr Nijjar defeated two strong opponents – Inderbir Singh Bolaria (Congress) and Talbir Singh Gill (SAD) – in Amritsar South during the Punjab assembly elections in 2022. In the 2017 assembly elections, he lost to Bolaria.
The CKD is a historic 120-year-old Sikh organization, which originated from the Singh Sabha movement, and at present runs over 50 educational institutions, orphanages, hospitals and other public welfare institutions.
