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Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday returned to the helm of the Shiromani Akali Dal with his unanimous election as the president of the Punjab-based party which has been struggling due to a series of crushing losses and a shrinking vote share.
The 62-year-old former deputy chief minister was first elected the party president in 2008 — the youngest person to occupy the post.
His re-election at the outfit’s general delegate session in Amritsar comes barely four months after he resigned when he was declared ‘tankhaiya’ (guilty of religious misconduct) by the Akal Takht for “mistakes” committed by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and its government from 2007 to 2017.
Badal had survived an assassination attempt by a former Khalistani terrorist at Amritsar’s Golden Temple while performing sewa (service) as penance in December last year.
“I thank all for entrusting me with this responsibility. I promise the people that Punjab will again be turned into a number one state,” Badal said after the party’s election officer, Gulzar Singh Ranike, declared his name as the new president.
Badal, the son of late party patriarch Parkash Singh Badal, was the only candidate for the post of SAD president.
Reviving the political fortunes of the party amid dissent in the ranks is seen as the biggest challenge for Badal.
The session for electing SAD’s new president was held at the Teja Singh Samundari hall in the Sri Darbar Sahib complex in Amritsar. Badal’s name was proposed by the party’s working president, Balwinder Singh Bhundar, while party leaders Paramjit Singh Sarna and Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal seconded it.
Several senior party leaders, including Badal’s wife and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, former minister Bikram Singh Majithia and Daljit Singh Cheema, were present.
