Decode Politics: Why Akali Dal rebels are gunning for Sukhbir Badal and how his loyalists are fighting back

Ever since the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) was ousted from power in Punjab in 2017 after two successive terms at the helm, its president Sukhbir Singh Badal has been facing dissension in the party. During this period, a section of Akali Dal leaders have periodically questioned Sukhbir’s leadership as well as the Badal family’s control over the party.

Three weeks after the SAD’s debacle in the Lok Sabha elections, the simmering discontent in the party flared up Tuesday, when a group of senior party leaders openly raised a banner of revolt against Sukhbir, passing a resolution to seek his resignation.

In the multi-cornered battle in the recent Lok Sabha polls in Punjab, the Akali Dal, contesting separately from its erstwhile ally BJP, faced another rout as it managed to win just one seat out of 13 as against the Congress’s seven and the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s three, with the remaining two seats won by Independent candidates – radical preacher Amritpal Singh from Khadoor Sahib and Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa (son of Indira Gandhi assassin Beant Singh) from Faridkot.

The only seat the Akali Dal could win was Bathinda, Badals’ home turf, from where Harsimrat Kaur, wife of Sukhbir, was elected for the fourth consecutive term. What added insult to the party’s injury was that ten of its candidates ended up losing security deposits.

Expressing concern that the SAD’s core support base has drifted away during Sukhbir’s presidentship, ex-MP Prem Singh Chandumajra, once-Badal loyalist Sikander Singh Maluka, former SGPC president Jagir Kaur, among other prominent Akali faces, held a meeting in Jalandhar, which passed a resolution demanding that Sukhbir should show “spirit of sacrifice” and step down in view of the sentiments of people.