It was a ‘ghar-wapsi’ of sorts when Sikandar Singh Maluka was welcomed back into the Akali Dal fold on Saturday in Chandigarh by none other than the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief, Sukhbir Singh Badal.
Appreciating the contributions made by Maluka to the party, Badal said he was confident that the newly-re-inducted veteran leader would strengthen it even further.
“We are witnessing a steady comeback of leaders who had left the party for various reasons in the past. Recently, senior leaders Sohan Singh Thandal and Anil Joshi also re-joined the party. I'm confident Maluka's comeback will pave the way for complete Panthic unity in the coming days," the party chief said.
Using the opportunity to appeal to the Punjabis to “come together to strengthen the regional party”, the former chief minister announced that Maluka would “immediately join the party’s ongoing election campaign for the Ludhiana West assembly by-election”.
“The party is gaining ground in the Ludhiana West constituency... the Aam Aadmi Party's Mahila Wing president Preeti Malhotra also joined the SAD a few days ago," Badal said.
In a post on X, he wrote, "With the support of the people of Punjab, @Akali_Dal_ is growing stronger with each passing day. I urge all Punjabis to come together to strengthen Punjab's only regional party for the peace and development of the state".
Punjab’s long-standing Panthic party has been ridden in crises since a while now, having been ousted by the people’s mandate since 2017. As leaders begun leaving its ranks and whispers of disgruntled party workers started to gain momentum, SAD expelled a few “rebels” including Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) ex-president Bibi Jagir Kaur, former SAD MP Prem Singh Chandumajra, former ministers Parminder Singh Dhindsa and Surjit Singh Rakhra and former MLAs Gurpartap Singh Wadala and Surinder Singh Thekedar .
Maluka’s expulsion last year, along with the others’, was attributed to “anti-party activities” after the rebel leaders announced a 13-member group to strengthen the SAD Sudhar Lehar (Shiromani Akali Dal reform movement). Maluka was removed from the post of SAD’s Maur assembly constituency in-charge and was replaced by former minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon.
To atone for their “wrong-doings”, the rebel leaders had also approached the Sikhs’ highest temporal seat – Akal Takht – seeking a pardon for mistakes committed during two terms of the SAD-BJP government from 2007-17. Akal Takht jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh directed the Sudhar Lehar to be dissolved last December.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, SAD managed to retain only one seat of a total of 13 in Punjab – the Bathinda constituency that was won by Badal’s wife and former Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal.
Maluka's daughter-in-law, Parampal Kaur Sidhu, had unsuccessfully contested from the Bathinda seat on a BJP ticket. Maluka’s son, Gurpreet Singh, is a former chairman of the Bathinda Zila Parishad.
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