E-Paper
Punjab elections: Ex-AIG quits SAD after Chamkaur Sahib seat given to BSP
Former Punjab Police officer Harmohan Singh Sandhu, who was SAD constituency in-charge from Chamkaur Sahib, resigned as Akalis gave the seat to alliance partner BSP
Differences in the Shiromani Akali Dal over seat sharing with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) surfaced on Monday as the SAD leader and former Punjab Police officer, Harmohan Singh Sandhu, resigned from the party’s primary membership.
Sandhu was the constituency in-charge of the SAD in Chamkaur Sahib. He is the son of former cabinet minister Satwant Kaur Sandhu and MLA Ajaib Singh Sandhu. He resigned as Punjab Police assistant inspector general (AIG) in 2018 even as eight years of his service were remaining.
Also read: Punjab CM says Badals playing double game on farm laws
He was inducted into the SAD by party president Sukhbir Singh Badal, who termed him an asset.
Sandhu was tipped to be the SAD candidate for the assembly elections, but his hopes were dashed when the SAD decided to give the seat to ally BSP.
He was under pressure from workers to take a call on the issue.
Sandhu took to Facebook to announce his resignation from the SAD. He said that his family had served the Akali Dal since 1962. Sandhu wrote that some SAD leaders and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee members had worked against the party.
“After the June 12 alliance with the BSP, SAD workers from our area asked the party leadership not to give Panthic seats such as Anandpur Sahib and Chamkaur Sahib to the BSP, but our demand was not met,” said Sandhu, explaining the reason for quitting.
The SAD is yet to comment on the issue.
