E-Paper
SGPC annual polls today, members authorise Sukhbir Badal to pick new team
A closed-door meeting held with SGPC members by Akali Dal president Sukhbir Badal who hails tenure of incumbent Sikh shrine body head Jagir Kaur
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) general house will assemble on Monday for the annual election of Sikh shrine management body president, other office-bearers and the executive committee in the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar.
Like previous years, the gurdwara body members, who are in majority, owing allegiance to the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Sunday unanimously authorised party president Sukhbir Singh Badal to choose the entire team.
This time too, Sukhbir held a closed-door meeting with SGPC members. Former SGPC president Kirpal Singh Badungar proposed to give Sukhbir all rights to choose the new team with all members present giving their nod.
Incumbent president Jagir Kaur listed the “accomplishments” during her one-year tenure.
An SGPC member said Sukhbir hailed Jagir Kaur’s tenure and expressed his desire to avail her services for the party in the upcoming assembly elections and rope her in the cabinet if the party forms government.
Contenders for the top post
Apart from incumbent president Jagir Kaur, who has a long experience of managing the gurdwara body affairs, some other names are also doing rounds for the top post.
Balbir Singh Ghunas, a scheduled caste (SC), is also being considered a frontrunner as the SC factor has become dominant in the poll-bound state with the elevation of Charanjit Singh Channi as chief minister after SAD announced to make deputy cm from the community if it forms the government in Punjab.
A four-time MLA, Ghunas is head of Gurdwara Tap Asthan Baba Attar Singh at Ghunas village in Barnala district and this is not for the first time that his name is doing rounds for the top post.
Besides, incumbent SGPC chief secretary (honorary) Harjinder Singh Dhami and former chief Kirpal Singh Badungar are also contenders.
The general house of 191 members comprising 170 elected by Sikh voters, 15 co-opted and six sitting heads of Sikh temporal seats and Golden Temple head granthi assembles to elect the president and other office-bearers (general secretary, senior vice-president and junior vice-president) besides 11-member executive committee.
Of these, nearly 15 members have died, while some resigned from the membership.
The members either elect the office-bearers or executive unanimously or by voting through secret ballot papers.
