Sukhbir Badal re-elected Shiromani Akali Dal chief

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) re-elected former party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal as its president during the organisational poll held at Teja Singh Samundari Hall here on Saturday.

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Party insiders had revealed that Sukhbir was both the “favourite” and “the only candidate” for the post. The elections follow the conclusion of a three-month-long membership drive.

Sukhbir resigned from his post of the SAD president on November 16, 2024, after being declared 'tankhaiya' (guilty of religious misconduct) by the Akal Takht.

ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੇ ਵਿਕਾਸ ਪੁਰਸ਼ ਸ. ਸੁਖਬੀਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਬਾਦਲ ਜੀ ਨੂੰ ਸ਼੍ਰੋਮਣੀ ਅਕਾਲੀ ਦਲ ਦਾ ਪ੍ਰਧਾਨ ਬਣਨ 'ਤੇ ਬਹੁਤ ਬਹੁਤ ਮੁਬਾਰਕਾਂ, ਸ. ਬਾਦਲ ਪੰਥ ਤੇ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੇ ਹੱਕਾਂ ਦੀ ਡੱਟ ਕੇ ਪਹਿਰੇਦਾਰੀ ਕਰਨ ਅਤੇ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਨੂੰ ਮੁੜ ਖੁਸ਼ਹਾਲ ਬਣਾਉਣ।#ShiromaniAkaliDal#SukhbirSinghBadal pic.twitter.com/GdANQLmj6Q

— Shiromani Akali Dal (@Akali_Dal_) April 12, 2025

Sukhbir was first elected as the party president in December 2008, during his father Parkash Singh Badal’s tenure as Chief Minister. He was lauded as a leader of the future for introducing a corporate-like political culture within the party. However, dissent grew as the party faced consecutive electoral defeats, starting with the 2017 Assembly elections.

After ruling Punjab from 2007 to 2017, the SAD was reduced to just three MLAs in the 2022 Assembly elections and one MP in the 2024 Lok Sabha poll.