The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which has been going through a challenging phase over the past few years, faced another setback on Monday as the party faced a virtual split following the rebel faction announcing its new president.

In the meeting in Amritsar of the Akal Takht-appointed committee, which was last year given the mandate to supervise the restructuring of the party, the breakaway faction on Monday declared former Akal Takht acting chief priest Giani Harpreet Singh as its president.

Satwant Kaur was appointed chairperson of the Panthic (Sikh) council. The Akal Takht is the highest Sikh temporal seat.

Ever since Sukhbir Singh Badal’s re-election as SAD president, the rebels had been alleging that the Akal Takht’s verdict of December 2, 2024 – which awarded religious punishments to him and several other party leaders for the “mistakes” committed by the Akali Dal-led government from 2007 to 2017 – was not implemented in letter and spirit. The temporal authority had issued directions to the working committee of SAD to constitute a panel to hold elections for the post of party president and office-bearers, which the rebels pointed out was not adhered to.

Mr. Harpreet Singh was part of the Sikh clergy that had issued the December 2, 2024 verdict. In February, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee had dismissed his services as the jathedar of Takht Sri Damdama Sahib.

War of words erupts

With rebels staking claim to the party, the exchange of words between leaders of both the camps sharpened.

Addressing the meeting, Mr. Harpreet Singh asserted that they were the “real” Akalis and “we would eventually take control of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, the Akali Dal symbol, and the Akali Dal office”.

Reacting sharply, senior SAD leaders Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal and Daljit Singh Cheema dubbed the faction as an “Agency Dal”. The leaders said the faction of disgruntled elements has added a new chapter to the “old conspiracy to divide and weaken the Khalsa Panth and Punjab” with the floating of a “sponsored outfit of Central agencies with their hand-picked henchman Harpreet Singh as its spearhead”.

SAD, which often claims to be the sole representative of the Sikh community, has over the years seen a gradual decline in fortunes in Punjab, where Sikh identity and issues have long been central to the political discourse.

Political observers say the impression had gained among several sections among the Sikh community that under the sway of the Badal family, the party moved away from issues surrounding the Sikh ‘panth’ and deviated from its core ideology of giving voice to Sikh issues.

The party’s dipping popularity was on view during the 2024 Lok Sabha election, where SAD could win only one seat of the 13 parliamentary constituencies in the State. The party had earlier faced electoral drubbings in the 2017 and 2022 Assembly elections.