Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal will chair a meeting of the core committee, party’s top decision making body, on Thursday to introspect the party’s drubbing in the parliamentary poll on June 1. The party won only one seat (Bathinda) in the state.
The committee could witness fireworks as a section of the leadership is upset over the way party had contested the polls as it was unable to launch a stable poll campaign and lay an agenda for the voters. Party’s worries have mounted as its vote share has fallen to 13.5% which is less than the previous state assembly polls of 2022 when it romped home with over 18% vote share of the total votes polled. Leaders are also feeling a loss in terms of panth and the peasantry as such voters have spread into other parties.
With the entry of party’s former ally BJP into the poll fray as a separate entity, things have become difficult for Akali party, as the saffron party took more vote share of over 18% in the recently held polls. Ahead of the polls, the attempts by Akalis and the saffron party for a tie up had failed.
SAD spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema on Wednesday stated in a post on X, “The party will do a thorough introspection of recent parliamentary elections (on Thursday) and discuss the current political situation in the state as well as the country in details.”
{{/usCountry}}SAD spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema on Wednesday stated in a post on X, “The party will do a thorough introspection of recent parliamentary elections (on Thursday) and discuss the current political situation in the state as well as the country in details.”
{{/usCountry}}It is worth mentioning here that senior leaders, including SAD patron Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, former SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur and the party legislature group head in the state assembly Manpreet Singh Ayali, had raised voices over party’s repeated poor show in the elections — assembly polls in 2017 and 2022 and the parliament election for which results were declared on June 4.
“It (party’s electoral performance) can’t be worse than this. We need to sit and do a serious thinking as to what needs to be done to save the party’s existence,” said Dhindsa, while Ayali has demanded implementation of the Jhundan committee to put the party back on the track otherwise he would not attend to the party affairs.
Bibi Jagir Kaur has asked the party to take corrective steps urgently as it is unfortunate and alarming that the people of Punjab have lost faith their confidence in the party of martyrs.