SAD revival under cloud amid exodus of leaders

When SAD leaders gathered in Jalandhar to lodge a protest against the arrest of party leader Bikram Singh Majithia in a disproportionate assets case recently, only a handful of workers were seen participating in the stir.

Of those protesting, only a few were recognisable faces, suggesting that the party’s popularity has nosedived in Doaba — Jalandhar in particular.

The SAD’s standing has also taken a hit due to a continuous exodus of leaders from the party over the past one year.

Its Banga MLA Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi joined state’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in August last year.

Former Adampur MLA Pawan Kumar Tinu too is now AAP’s Jalandhar halqa incharge after having unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary election from the seat last year.

In Sukhi and Tinu’s exit, the SAD lost its two prominent Dalit faces in the Doaba region, comprising Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur and Nawanshahr districts.

The only big Dalit leader that the party is now left with is its former Phillaur MLA Baldev Khera.

However, his activities are confined to Phillaur only.

Jalandhar (Rural) SAD Committee does not even have a president since former Nakodar legislator Gurpartap Wadala formed the now-defunct SAD Sudhar Lehar, a movement that was launched by rebel leaders for a leadership change in the party.

Former SAD minister Jagir Kaur, who earlier was an MLA from Kapurthala’s Bholath, and former Garhshankar legislator Surinder Singh Bhullewal Rathan too joined the Wadala-led group.

A staunch loyalist of Bikram Majithia and a prominent youth leader, Sarabjot Singh Saabi, who had contested the 2022 Assembly election as a SAD candidate, too jumped ship last week.

He joined the Congress in the presence of party bigwigs, including state unit chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa.

The situation is similar in Nawanshahr’s Balachaur since Sunita Chaudhary passed away in 2023.

In Kapurthala district, the party has just one active leader — HS Walia. Jagbir Brar, an ex-MLA from Jalandhar Cantonment, had returned to the SAD three years ago, only to shift loyalty to the BJP within a few months.

Former Akali minister and Chabbewal leader Sohan S Thandal, who had joined the BJP ahead of the Assembly bypoll in November 2024, is back in party but his re-joining did not make much impact.

As of today, Banga, Balachaur, Bholath, Jalandhar North, Jalandhar West, Adampur, Nakodar, Kartarpur, Garhshankar, Mukerian and Dasuya have become almost leaderless.

However, SAD’s Jalandhar (urban) president and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) secretary Kulwant Singh Manan is optimistic.

“Everything can be sorted out within days if everyone decides to shun ego and unite for the cause of the Sikh Panth and the party. The Panth and the party have already faced a lot of damage,” he says.

Manan also feels that the Takht Patna Sahib declaring party chief Sukhbir Badal a “tankhaiya” (guilty of religious misconduct) for allegedly interfering in its matters “won’t make much impact”. “Everyone knows about the politics behind it,” he says.\ This was the second time in the past six months when a Sikh Takht censored Badal.

Though the Akal Takht overturned the Takht Patna Sahib decision, it had on December 2 last year held Sukhbir and other SAD leaders guilty of “religious misconduct” during the party’s decade-long rule from 2007-17.

Sukhbir had to quit as the party chief due to mounting pressure and calls for a leadership change. He made a comeback as the party president only a couple of months ago.

Now, Majithia’s arrest has come as a setback for the party.

However, former Phillaur MLA Baldev Khera maintains that the party president was well aware of the ground situation.

He pins hope on the party’s scheduled protests against the government’s land pooling policy.

“Our political activities will begin from July 15. We will start a morcha against the land pooling scheme in Ludhiana. You will see a major reversal in party fortunes as the leadership will work aggressively,” he says. The party leaders also shared that Sukhbir was in discussions to take a house on a highway in Jalandhar for easy mobility across Punjab and to make ground ahead of the 2027 Assembly poll.

Punjab