Buoyed by ‘ghar wapasi' of Akali Dal rebels, Sukhbir eyes return to the game
Former Punjab minister and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader, Sikander Singh Maluka, returned to the party fold on Saturday. This marked the return of three Akali Dal rebels to the party just this month, which indicated the SAD's aggressive campaign to strengthen its organisation after suffering a series of setbacks over a long period.
On June 5, Sohan Singh Thandal, a former state minister, was inducted back into the SAD following his brief stint with the BJP. On June 10, another former state minister Anil Joshi also had a 'ghar wapasi (homecoming)' as he returned to the Akali Dal fold.
Welcoming Maluka into the party, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal immediately assigned him the campaign charge for the June 19 Ludhiana West bypoll. Sukhbir has been claiming that only his party can take on the 'corruption and gangster culture unleashed by the AAP government' and that former SAD leaders were opting for 'ghar wapasi' to bring back 'peace and development' to Punjab.
As several rebel veterans rejoin the Akali Dal under Sukhbir's leadership, the SAD hopes that their 'homecoming' would help the party's bid for revival in order to reclaim its lost ground in the state.
Maluka, 75, had distanced himself from the SAD in April 2024 after his son Gurpreet Singh Maluka and daughter-in-law Parampal Kaur Maluka, a former IAS officer, joined the BJP.
Parampal then contested the Bathinda Lok Sabha seat on a BJP ticket against the SAD's Harsimrat Kaur Badal. Parampal stood fourth and lost her deposit.
Though Maluka did not campaign for Parampal at the time, he released a video praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the last day of her campaign. Subsequently, the SAD removed him from the posts of the SAD disciplinary committee head and the Maur constituency in-charge.
While Maluka maintained that he was a 'born Akali' and would not join another party, he attended meetings of its rebel faction — the now-dissolved Akali Dal (Sudhar Lehar) — in July last year. This prompted the SAD leadership to take stricter action against Maluka, expelling him along with seven other leaders.
However, Maluka stopped participating in the rebel group's activities soon after his expulsion.
His return now, just a week before the Ludhiana West bypoll, is being seen as a tactical move by the Akali Dal. The party has fielded advocate Parupkar Singh Ghuman for this bypoll, who will take on the AAP's Sanjeev Arora among other rivals.
After facing repeated blows, Sukhbir has been making attempts to get back into the game, actively campaigning now for the Ludhiana West bypoll, which will be a litmus test for his party.
Maluka's experience in the organisational affairs could improve the party's chances in the seat.
Thandal, long associated with the SAD, joined the BJP in October 2024. He subsequently contested the Chabbewal bypoll but lost, and returned to the SAD earlier this month.
Joshi was a key BJP face from the Majha region. He had won from Amritsar North in 2007 and 2012 on the BJP tickets and had served as Cabinet minister from 2012 to 2017. He was expelled from the BJP in 2021 after he raised objections over the party's stand on the three contentious central farm laws. He joined the Akali Dal soon afterwards. He also contested the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat last year but lost.
Joshi left the SAD in November 2024, claiming it was deviating from 'real issues'.
After the Akal Takht found him guilty of 'religious misconduct' for his role as the Deputy Chief Minister during the tenure of the Akali Dal-led government from 2007 to 2017, Sukhbir was forced to resign as the SAD president last November. The decision was accepted by the party's Working Committee only in January this year.
In April, however, Sukhbir was re-elected as the SAD chief by the party through its organisational polls.
Back in the saddle, he has his task cut out now. The party, which was once a strong regional force, has been reeling under various crises. In the 2022 Punjab Assembly polls, it could win only three seats out of the state's 117. Since then, Banga MLA Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi joined the AAP, while Dakha MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali aligned with a rebel SAD group. This has now left the party with just one MLA: Ganieve Majithia (Majitha).
Sukhbir has to rehaul the SAD organisation before the 2027 polls in order to take on the AAP as well as the principal Opposition Congress. He has also continued to face opposition from the party's dissident group, which has raised objections to his election as the SAD chief.
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