Eye on Panthic vote, Amritpal plans to float another Akali Dal

The political party to be launched by supporters of Khalistan sympathiser and Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha MP Amritpal Singh during a Maghi Mela conference in Muktsar on January 14 will contain words “Akali Dal”.

The move is being seen as an attempt to grab the Panthic space from the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), once a dominant political force from whom Sikh voters drifted in recent years following a series of controversies over its conduct on Sikh issues.

Former Sangrur Lok Sabha MP Rajdev Singh Khalsa, a spokesperson for Amritpal, who is currently lodged in Assam’s Dibrugarh jail, told The Tribune that deliberations are under way over the naming of the political outfit.

“But Akali Dal will definitely be included in it. We are discussing additions to it,” said Khalsa, a former close aide of Khalistan ideologue Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale who had won the Lok Sabha poll from Sangrur in 1989 as a candidate of the United Akali Dal.

When asked who will be leading the outfit, Khalsa said in all likelihood, it will be Amritpal.

Sukhchain Singh, a retired police inspector and Amritpal’s uncle, said “false information is being spread” about their attempts to form a party.

“A political party can be registered as per the Constitution of India, which stands for secularism. Some people are spreading imaginary fears,” he said.

Meanwhile, a retired police officer expressed concerns over the development.

“These are dangerous signs for the state where an attempt can be made to polarise voters. Already, tensions are prevailing regarding the indefinite fast by farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal in the Punjab’s Malwa region, while the Majha area has seen a series of blasts. Public sentiments can be exploited,” said the retired officer who worked during the counter-insurgency operations in the state in late 1980s and early 90s.

Meanwhile, the SAD has also announced plans to hold a political conference during the Maghi Mela, which will be first such political event to be attended by Sukhbir Badal, who recently underwent a religious punishment announced by the Akal Takht for the mistakes committed by his party and its government between 2007-17.

The SAD will be trying to regain its lost space among Sikh voters through the event, which has strong religious connotations as Maghi Mela is observed every year to commemorate the martyrdom of 40 Muktas (Sikhs), who had laid down their lives fighting the Mughal forces in Muktsar in 1705. Last year, during the Lok Sabha poll, Amritpal had defeated the SAD candidate by a huge margin while still in jail.