The death of veteran Akali leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa has once again put the spotlight on the state of Shiromani Akali Dal and reignited calls for its revival, with both allies and adversaries stressing the need for warring factions to unite and restore the party’s relevance, writes Aayush Goel
The death of veteran Akali leader and former Union Minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa has once again put a spotlight on the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and an urgent need for its revival. The 89-year-old Akali stalwart Dhindsa breathed his last on May 28 in Mohali. A veteran Akali and second most senior leader of the party for around 15 years, Dhindsa turned rebel and parted ways during fag end of his political career. What he was saying in internal meetings of the party started becoming public in 2019.
Dhindsa turned rebel while questioning the leadership of Badals and had constituted his own SAD (Democratic), which he had later merged with another SAD veteran, late Ranjit Singh Brahampura’s SAD (Taksali), and together they had formed SAD (Sanyukt). However, Dhindsa was again back to SAD-led by Badals before being expelled again for alleged “anti-party activities”. While he remained at loggerheads with SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal, his demise is being considered the ultimate cue for the resurrection of a united SAD.
It was at Dhindsa’s prayer meet that Punjab’s BJP President Sunil Jakhar gave a clarion call to the Akali Dal factions to unite and put up a strong political front, citing a strong regional party as the ultimate need of Panth, Punjab and the Nation. Echoing his views, Sukhbir Badal also said that Dhindsa also wanted to see a “united Akali Dal for the sake of Punjab and its people.” Sukhbir, while addressing the prayer meet, said this was probably his last wish. “I met him just a few days before his demise. Even then, he told me that “Sukhbir, please unite our party, our Panth.” Only then can we serve people. For the sake of Punjab, he wanted to see Akali Dal united,” said Sukhbir.
The current state of SAD
The SAD’s decline has been stark. In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, its candidates forfeited deposit in 11 of Punjab’s 13 seats, scraping just 13.24 per cent of the vote — a historic low. Earlier, in the 2022 state election, the party won only three of 117 seats with 18 percent of the vote. Internal dissent has since grown. Following dismal performances in Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha, inter-party feuds spilling into public and the party facing its worst existential crisis, it is working to rise back from the ashes. It started with the re-election of Sukhbir Badal in April 2025 as the president of SAD after facing religious censure. While the re-election established Badal’s dominance in the party, it’s an acid test for Badal scion. Sukhbir’s latest term is primarily focused on two issues – SAD’s contribution in Sikh history and Punjab and lashing out at its once close ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for weakening the Sikh religious institutions and the Akalis. Sukhbir was declared ‘Tankhiaya’ (guilty of religious misconduct) by the Akal Takht (the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs) for mistakes committed by his party between 2007 to 2017 on November 16, 2024. Serving his penance, Sukhbir created ripples and managed to win back the party’s core base with impassioned appeal. His statements like “Punjab da asli waris SAD hai, Qaum ate Punjab di apni jathebandi hai SAD (Punjab’s real successor was SAD, SAD was the party of the Sikh community and Punjab). SAD is not a party of any leader,” seem to be making some impact.
Currently, the SAD led by Sukhbir Singh Badal is facing a major challenge from a group of dissidents, including senior leaders such as sitting SAD MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali, Gurpartap Singh Wadala, Iqbal Singh Jhundan, Santa Singh Umedpur, and former SGPC President Jagir Kaur among others.
After the Lok Sabha rout, Banga MLA Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi defected to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), while Dakha MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali refused to work under Sukhbir. Meanwhile, a group of top leaders, including Gurpartap Singh Wadala, Prem Singh Chandumajra and Bibi Jagir Kaur, briefly formed a reformist faction before disbanding in December, apparently to reunify the party.
In a notable political development, Sohan Singh Thandal has returned to the SAD months after campaigning for the BJP in the Chabbewal bypolls. Thandal’s return to the SAD underscores widespread discontent with the AAP government’s policies in Punjab, which Thandal and Badal claim have led to increased corruption and lawlessness. As Badal voiced confidence that Thandal’s comeback will prompt further defections to SAD as it seeks to restore peace and development in the region, it got a shot in the arm when Preeti Malhotra, former president of AAP’s women’s wing, also joined SAD, giving a boost to the party in its revival. The comeback of a former cabinet minister like Anil Joshi is also being seen as a promising move.
The party is banking heavily on the ongoing recruitment drive by the special committee founded by Shri Akal Takht. The committee claims that it has taken them two and a half months to deepen the understanding of unity and illustrate its vital importance for Punjab and the Panth. The committee is working with warring conventional factions of Panthic parties to unite by putting aside ego, political arrogance, and stubbornness. However, with Sukhbir’s re-election as party President, the skepticism has only deepened. For Sukhbir, the challenge is twofold: to reunite a fractured party and restore its credibility.
Why is BJP batting for SAD revival?
Ever since his re-election, Sukhbir Badal has been gunning for the BJP, holding them responsible for the crises in SAD. Surprisingly, however , the BJP has been openly batting for the revival of the party. Apparently, leading the campaign, party president Sunil Jakhar recently called for the Akali Dal’s revival. “As a Punjabi, I believe that the SAD is as important for Punjab as it was in 1920 (when it was formed). I respectfully appeal to our highest religious body, the Shri Akal Takht Sahib, to ensure guilty individuals recognise their mistakes and are appropriately reprimanded. However, it is also essential to safeguard the Panthic party,” he wrote on social media.
Addressing the gathering at Dhindsa’s prayer meet, Jakhar emphasized the point, saying, “It must also be kept in mind that due to internal differences, Punjab’s great heritage should not be usurped by others, lest the Panth, the community, and Punjab have to bear the consequences.”
“The true tribute to Dhindsa would be to safeguard and preserve the ideology he stood for throughout his life. For him, the issues of qaum (community) and Panth were his priority. We must unite and save our Punjab, the land of the Gurus. I appeal to all with folded hands, that a strong, united panthic party is not just a necessity for the Panth or Punjab, but the country also needs it. Please keep your differences aside and unite. Punjab may have to see black days again if outsiders take over.”
BJP and Punjab’s oldest 100-year-old regional party, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), ended its over two-decade alliance in 2020 over the three farm laws. Even as the contentious farm laws were later rolled back by the BJP-led Centre, the alliance failed to be restored. However, facing a tough challenge from the ruling AAP, the BJP sees the SAD as its only hope to counter AAP in the next Vidhan Sabha elections.
