Claiming to be ‘real’ SAD, Akali faction petitions EC
The Punar Surjit group led by former Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh has filed a petition before the Election Commission
A breakaway faction of the Shiromani Akali Dal, the Punar Surjit group led by former Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh has filed a petition before the Election Commission, claiming that it should be officially recognised as the ‘real’ SAD.
An application has been moved with the EC in accordance with the provisions of the Representation of the Peoples Act, 1951, and the Election Symbol (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1966.
Gurjeet Singh Talwandi, general secretary of the SAD (Punar Surjit), confirmed that the petition had been accepted for consideration.
“We have submitted a plea claiming to be the ‘real’ Shiromani Akali Dal that was appointed and under operation as per the original constitution of the party. We have also submitted the relevant legal documentation to substantiate the claim for authenticity, the party's traditional symbol ‘takdi’ (scale), bank accounts and allied infrastructure of the party,” he said.
After parting ways with the ‘mainstream’ Sukhbir Singh Badal-led Shiromani Akali Dal, a group of Akalis joined hands with Akal Takht-constituted committee members who were entrusted with the task to ‘recast’ the SAD. They conducted the fresh recruitment parallel to a similar Badal-sponsored drive.
The Badal faction claimed to have enrolled over 30 lakh members, but it was challenged by the rebels. “We have submitted how the recruitment drive was conducted in an organic manner, unlike the Badal group, which had inducted ‘bogus’ members,” he said.
Talwandi said the relevant evidence had been provided with the application to substantiate the claim on the hierarchy of the Akali Dal.
The Punar Surjit group has put forth the past references of identical ‘splits’ in the parties in other states and the verdict of the EC and the judiciary in the cases.
It is learnt that the Punar Surjit group has quoted instances like the 2024 Jalandhar West bypoll in the SC reserved constituency, when the Badal faction had disowned its candidate Surjit Kaur as she had reportedly refused to acknowledge the party’s later stand to back its ally BSP.
Similarly, the vertical split in the Shiv Sena too has been cited in the plea wherein the EC had allotted on the party’s traditional symbol 'bow and arrow' to a group based on the strength of its legislative wing, rather than on the organisational wing and a fresh symbol was given to the other group.
