Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal termed the victory as a proof of rejection of both AAP and Congress among the Sikh Community.
Despite the brewing anti-panthic sentiments against Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab, the party managed to record a stomping victory in the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DGMC) elections whose results were declared on Wednesday.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal), led by president Manjit Singh GK, won 35 out of the total 46 seats, while Shiromani Akali Dal (Delhi) led by Paramjit Singh Sarna won only seven seats. Four seats were won by independents. As many as 353 candidates were in fray for 46 seats in the elections in Delhi which has nearly 3.5 lakhs Sikhs population.
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal termed the victory as a proof of rejection of both AAP and Congress among the Sikh Community.
Panthak Sewa Dal, formed by Sikh activists siding with AAP, failed to make its mark as none of the candidates could register victory. However, in one of its official statements, AAP had distanced itself from the elections, stating Gurdwaras are a place of worship and should not be politicised. The party said it will not contest the elections.
SAD (Badal) has been dominating the Gurdwara elections in Punjab and Delhi, but was on a slippery ground after the Punjab elections when it decided to take support from Dera Sacha Sauda, whose head Gurmeet Ram Rahim faces wrath of the Sikh groups for dressing up as Sikh Guru Gobind Singh.
The party also faced flak from various Sikh groups over its alleged mishandling of situation after sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib. Apprehending backlash, several senior SAD (Badal) leaders had also refrained from campaigning for the elections in Delhi this year.
Hailing the victory, SAD (Badal), leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa, who won from Greater Kailash, said the sangat (community) has reposed faith in SAD (Badal) as a savior of the panth, and flagged the victory for validating the support of the Sikh community.
However, Sikh groups in Punjab said the victory was due to the division of votes among the rival groups. "SAD-Badal has lost the trust of the panth. People have voted against SAD, but it got divided among several fractions which contested the elections separately. If they had united under one group, it was possible to defeat SAD (Badal)," said Giani Kewal Singh, former Jathedar, Takht Damdama Sahib.
Unlike last time, it was a multi-cornered contest, with several anti-Badal factions contesting the elections separately. "The issues of the Sikh community in Delhi and Punjab are different and it cannot be a referendum on polls in Punjab, where there is strong resentment among Sikhs against Akali Dal," said Amarjit Singh, General Secretary, Punjab Congress.
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