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Sarna walks away with
DSGMC again
WSN
Bureau
New Delhi: Just a
month before Punjab Assembly elections, Delhi Akali polity has
delivered a jolt to Prakash Singh Badal-led Akali Dal with Paramjit
Singh Sarna’s Delhi Akali Dal winning 27 of the 46 seats, leaving
Badal with only 12, two less than the figure it notched up in the
last elections.
The
breakaway Akali Dal of Manjit Singh (Greater Kailash) won six seats
while one seat was bagged by an Independent Harbhajan Singh Matharoo.
The results are likely to be quoted by the Congress as well as the
rival Akalis as an anti-Badal verdict by the Sikhs.
The
Akali Dal (Badal) tried to downplay the verdict in Delhi where only
40 per cent of the electorate turned out for voting. Akalis had left
the Delhi battle to SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar and to some
extent, Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa.
The biggest gainer, however, was the SAD (Panthak) led by Manjit
Singh GK. His party in its maiden contest won six seats denting the
support base of the SAD (Badal). In several places, the party lost
the seat by a meager margin, clearly sending the message that he has
to be watched out in the coming days.
Badal can derive some consolation from the fact that former Akal
Takht jathedar Ranjit Singh virtually fought alongside him against
the Sarnas, but the sad news for him is that Gurcharan Singh,
brother of Bhai Ranjit Singh, lost. Also among the losers was
Prahlad Singh Chandok former president DGMC and Badal supported
candidate who had defected from the Sarna camp to fight against
Paramjit Singh Sarna.
Of
the remaining five members in the 51-strong house, two are to be
co-opted from Delhi alone and two are to be elected by lottery
system from amongst the Singh Sabhas located in Delhi. One member is
to be nominated by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC),
Amritsar.
Badal, who had lost the hold on the DSGMC after he separated from
Gurcharan Singh Tohra, has never been able to get back his grip on
it. Tohra promoted Sarna and Badal and Tohra fought DSGMC elections
as rivals where Badal group was defeated and Sarna became the
president of DSGMC. However, Tohra later compromised with Badal and
rejoined his SAD but Sarna did not oblige even his master Tohra who
wanted him to return to SAD.
A
winner Sarna could now prove to be a great help to Congress party in
Punjab Assembly elections.
Though there are over 12-lakh Sikhs in Delhi, only around 4.5-lakh
of them are registered voters for the DSGMC elections.
The SAD (Delhi) focussed on its achievements, especially the Palki
venture for Nankana Sahib, which evoked much support during the
procession. The golden Palki is likely to be installed at the
birthplace of Guru Nanak by the end of this month.
The second consecutive defeat of SAD (Badal) in the poll is a big
blow to the confidence of the Delhi unit leaders, who were confident
of returning to power. However, the infighting and their inability
to project a united and credible face to the electorate cost them
dearly.
Anti-Badal sections of the community rushed to interpret the Akai
Dal (Badal)’s defeat as a referendum against the tie-up with BJP-RSS
line of polity. Avtar Singh Makkar’s confabulations with the BJP and
RSS leadership prior to the DSGMC elections had turned the focus
towards Akali-BJP relationship and the contradictions involved.
Interestingly, in Amritsar, at the office of SGPC secretary Raghbir
Singh Raja Sansi who has also floated his Akali Dal (Majha), two
quintals of ladoos were distributed to hail Sarnas’ victory.
Mrs Tohra congratulates Sarnas
Late Gurcharan Singh Tohra’s wife Bibi Joginder Kaur called up the
Sarna brothers soon after the DSGMC election results were known and
congratulated them at their victory. Telling this to the media,
Karnail Singh Panjoli said Bibi ji expressed her happiness at the
fact that the Delhi Sikhs have entrusted the sewa of gurdwaras to
the right people.
17 January, 2007
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