Shiromani Akali Dal finishes last, polls less votes than BJP

Chandigarh, June 26

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has hit a new low, finishing last in the Sangrur byelection and losing its security deposit. Though no one expected the party to win the bypoll merely three months after it received a drubbing in the Assembly elections winning just three seats, the results have come as a shock. The SAD polled even less votes than its former ally BJP. It secured 6.2 per cent votes and the BJP 9.33 per cent. The latter may have benefited from former Akali leader SS Dhindsa’s influence in the constituency.

It was way back in 2004 that the SAD last won the seat with Dhindsa then emerging victorious. In 2009, Dhindsa garnered 34.13% votes and finished second. In 2014, Sukhdev Dhindsa was second. In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Dhindsa’s son Parminder Dhindsa polled 23.88% votes as the SAD candidate.

Jagmeet Brar, senior vice-president of the SAD, said: “We lost as we did not touch core issues confronting Punjab and the Sikhs.” Iqbal Singh Jhunda, Sangrur (Rural) chief, said they would introspect and analyse the reasons for the defeat. However, Sukhbir Badal said it was a matter of principles. “We fielded the kin of one of the ‘Bandi Singhs’.”