The concentration of power in the hands of the Badal family has also contributed to distancing the party from its democratic roots.
Nov 20, 2024 04:20 IST First published on: Nov 20, 2024 at 04:20 IST
The resignation of Sukhbir Singh Badal as president of the Shiromani Akali Dal, two months after his excommunication by the Akal Takht, marks a pivotal moment for the country’s oldest regional party. The SAD stands at a critical juncture, which may also offer it a chance to reclaim its democratic ethos and reconnect with its grassroots. Elevated as president in 2008 by his father, Akali patriarch Parkash Singh Badal, Sukhbir is accused of presiding over the erosion of the party’s support in its Sikh bastion. While he was initially commended for leading the Akalis to a historic second term in 2012, his leadership was seen to falter in the aftermath of the sacrilege incidents of 2015. His controversial role in allegedly engineering a pardon for Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and failure to bring the perpetrators of sacrilege to justice alienated the party’s core supporters.
The concentration of power in the hands of the Badal family has also contributed to distancing the party from its democratic roots. What was once a cadre-driven organisation, led by committed jathedars, devolved into a corporate-like entity dominated by a closed circle of loyalists. Under their leadership, the Akali Dal failed to anticipate the backlash against the farm laws, which led to its split with its long-standing ally, the BJP. Formed in 1996, in its best version, this alliance was seen as a guarantor of communal harmony in Punjab in the aftermath of the dark decade of militancy. Its break also left the Akalis politically adrift.
The party’s decline became stark in 2017, when it was eclipsed by the then-nascent Aam Aadmi Party in the assembly elections. By 2022, its fortunes hit rock bottom, securing a mere three assembly seats. A fact-finding committee formed to study the causes of this debacle visited 100-odd villages and held Sukhbir responsible. The Akali Dal’s vote share has continued to plummet, with the BJP now outpacing it in Punjab during the parliamentary elections held in June and Sukhbir’s recent decision to stay away from the upcoming bypolls only reinforced perceptions of the party’s poor standing. Now his resignation comes amid growing concerns about the void created by the Akali Dal’s decline. The party once served as a moderating force in Punjab, bridging religious and political divides. In its absence, radical voices may be gaining ground, as shown by the election of two hardliners in the last parliamentary polls. The Akali Dal stands at a crossroads. The party needs to rethink, regroup, heal internal divisions, and retrieve a more spacious and connected politics.
