Sehajdhari Sikhs’ party to support BJP candidates in Punjab

GS Paul

Amritsar, May 31

A day ahead of the Lok Sabha poll in Punjab, Sehajdhari Sikhs have announced their support for the BJP.

Sehajdhari Sikh Party (SSP) national president Paramjit Singh Ranu said the executive council of the party had decided to support the NDA candidates.

Message delivered to 15-20 lakh members

Despite little time left for the poll, we believe that our message was delivered to at least 15-20 lakh Sehajdharis and Nanak Naam Leva members. We asked them to support the BJP candidates in Punjab and Chandigarh. Paramjit Singh Ranu, President, Sehajdhari Sikh Party

Giving reasons for supporting the BJP, he cited the opening of the Kartarpur corridor, tax-free ‘langar’, FCRA registration for the Golden Temple (enabling it to accept foreign donations), celebration of centenaries of Gurus and ‘Veer Bal Divas’.

He said that as per the Census data, Sikhs constituted 57.69 per cent of the total population of the state.

“Despite little time left for the poll, we believe that our message was delivered to at least 15-20 lakh Sehajdhari and Nanak Naam Leva members. We asked them to support the BJP candidates in Punjab and Chandigarh. We did the same in Haryana and Himachal too,” he said.

He said that during the 2022 Assembly elections, around 30 candidates of the SSP withdrew in the favour of BJP candidates in different constituencies, including Anandpur Sahib, Fatehgarh Sahib, Ludhiana and Sangrur.

“In the upcoming poll, the SSP had fielded Amandeep Singh Umedpur in Ludhiana who was withdrawn in the favour of BJP candidate Ravneet Singh Bittu,” he said.

“There are around 14 parties of Sikhs in Punjab, but unfortunately, not a single one has allegiance either with the NDA or INDIA bloc. After gauging both alliances, we felt that no party could match the kind of concern the BJP possessed towards the Sikhs. So, we decided to show solidarity with the BJP,” he said.

There has been a conflict between the Sehajdhari and Amritdhari Sikhs over their rights. The SGPC has never allowed Sehajdharis to participate in mainstream gurdwara affairs.

The last general elections of the Sikh body were held in 2011 in which around 52 lakh ‘eligible’ Amritdhari Sikhs had participated and around 62 lakh Sehajdharis were barred from voting.