E-Paper
Independents steal show in first Hry Sikh body elections
None of the major groups claimed victory till the writing of this report as they also did not contest from all wards. However, the majority of the independents are likely to join Jhinda, the crusader of gurdwara politics in Haryana.
Jagdish Singh Jhinda led Panthak Dal (Jhinda) group was set to gain majority with support from independents or other smaller groups in the 40-member Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC) elections, polling for which was held on Sunday.
None of the major groups claimed victory till the writing of this report as they also did not contest from all wards. However, the majority of the independents are likely to join Jhinda, the crusader of gurdwara politics in Haryana.
As per official figures, former HSGMC (ad hoc) president Jhinda’s group contested from 20 wards, former senior vice president Didar Singh Nalvi’s Sikh Samaj Sanstha from 19 and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-affiliated Haryana Sikh Panthic Dal (HSPD) led by Baldev Singh Kaimpur from 20 wards.
Former president Baljit Singh Daduwal faced humiliating defeat, and most of his supporters who contested as independents lost too.
While Jhinda did not give clarity on the number of winners from his group, Nalvi said that four of his candidates including him won.
Speaking to HT, Nalvi said, “Two independents are also with me, but there is an edge to the Jhinda group. Also, I’m ready to support Jhinda group directly or indirectly as we were the first to start this struggle in the state.”
However, SAD’s Kaimpur on the other hand told HT that his group won from six wards claiming that 12 independents were also with them, as also mentioned by SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema.
In a post on X, Cheema claimed to have a “pre-poll adjustment with all” 12 independents, a stance rejected by most of the Sikh leaders HT spoke to.
KEY WINNERS
Jhinda won from Assandh of Karnal district with a margin of 1,941 votes. In a one-sided battle, Jhinda gained 51% votes (4,216) against independent Balkar Singh, who won 27% (2,275) votes of the 8,292 votes polled.
In Shahbad of Kurukshetra, Nalvi won with a thin margin of 199 votes against independent Beant Singh. Of the total 7,616 votes polled, Nalvi gained 2,485 (33%) and Singh got 2,285 (30%) votes.
Similarly, from Bilaspur of Yamunanagar, Kaimpur registered victory with a margin of 247 votes against independent Manmohan Singh.
From Ladwa, the assembly constituency of chief minister Nayab Saini, HSPD’s Jasbir Kaur Masana turned out victorious by 432 votes.
KEY LOSERS
Sikh hardliner and part of the outgoing ad-hoc panel, Daduwal lost from Kalanwali. In a head-to-head fight, Binder Singh Khalsa defeated Daduwal by a margin of 1,767 votes. Khalsa secured 4,914 votes and Daduwal managed to get 3,147 votes.
This comes as a big setback to Daduwal as most of his supporters, contesting as independents, reportedly also lost from most of the wards.
Ravinder Kaur Ajrana, who was the junior vice-president of the outgoing ad-hoc committee under president Bhupinder Singh Assandh, lost from Thanesar in Kurukshetra district.
NO VOTING IN TOHANA
Woman candidate Amanpreet Kaur from Fatehabad’s Tohana, contesting as an independent, was the sole candidate from her ward. She was declared the winner unopposed.
WARDS AND MEMBERS
As many as 40 members will be elected by the Sikh voters in 40 wards spread all over the state and further, nine members will be nominated.
The members will further choose a president and other office-bearers of the executive body for HSGMC, a meeting for which will be held in Kurukshetra later.
Number OF GURDWARAS
There are 52 gurdwaras in Haryana mentioned in Schedule 1, 2 and 3 of the The Haryana Sikh Gudwaras (Management) Act, 2014.
As per the Act, of the total 52 gurdwaras, eight are historical and under schedule one, 17 schedule two and 27 gurdwaras are categorised as schedule three.
SIGNIFICANCE
A section of the Sikh community in the state was demanding a separate committee to manage gurdwaras in the state in place of the SGPC since the late 1990s.
There was a simmering discontent within the minds of the Sikhs of Haryana that they were being discriminated against and not given due importance regarding the affairs of the gurdwaras in the state.
After a struggle for almost two decades, months before the assembly elections in July 2014, the then chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s government brought a legislation paving the way for formation of HSGMC and after formalities, it became a law.
After a legal battle for nearly a decade, a Supreme Court bench of justices Hemant Gupta and Vikram Nath on September 20, 2022 upheld the validity of the Act, paving the way for elections.
KEY ISSUES
Afte the apex court ruling, the state government under the then CM Manohar Lal Khattar, nominated a 38-member ad-hoc committee that chose Baba Karamjeet Singh of Yamunanagar as its president.
Later, Bhupinder Singh Assandh from Karnal replaced Karamjeet-led body that ran into controversies for all the wrong reasons, pushing for the demands to get an early election conducted.
Several Sikh groups pushed for a committee “free from government control” to maintain the maryada of gurdwaras and community as whole.
During campaigning, candidates talked of the maryada as well as providing education and healthcare.
