SAD Faces Crisis in Doaba as Leaders Quit and Support Fades

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is facing a tough time in Punjab’s Doaba region, especially in Jalandhar, as its support seems to be shrinking fast. When party leaders held a protest in Jalandhar recently over the arrest of senior leader Bikram Singh Majithia in a disproportionate assets case, only a small number of supporters showed up. Most of them were unfamiliar faces, showing that SAD’s popularity has dropped sharply in the area.

Over the past year, many well-known SAD leaders have left the party. Banga MLA Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi and former Adampur MLA Pawan Kumar Tinu both joined the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). With their departure, the party lost two of its strongest Dalit faces in Doaba. Now, SAD is left with only one big Dalit leader, former Phillaur MLA Baldev Khera, whose work is mostly limited to the Phillaur area.

To make things worse, Jalandhar (Rural) SAD doesn’t even have a president since former Nakodar MLA Gurpartap Wadala started the now-defunct SAD Sudhar Lehar, a breakaway group that pushed for changes in the party leadership. Other former leaders like Jagir Kaur and Surinder Singh Bhullewal Rathan had also joined this rebel group earlier.

Even SAD’s youth face Sarabjot Singh Saabi, a loyalist of Majithia and a 2022 Assembly election candidate, switched sides last week and joined the Congress. In Nawanshahr’s Balachaur, the situation has been uncertain since leader Sunita Chaudhary’s death in 2023. In Kapurthala district, only one leader, HS Walia, remains active. Other leaders like Jagbir Brar and Sohan Singh Thandal rejoined the party but did not bring any noticeable boost.

As of now, SAD has no major leadership in areas like Banga, Balachaur, Bholath, Jalandhar North, Jalandhar West, Adampur, Nakodar, Kartarpur, Garhshankar, Mukerian, and Dasuya.

Despite these challenges, Kulwant Singh Manan, SAD’s Jalandhar (Urban) president and SGPC secretary, remains hopeful. He believes that unity and letting go of egos can help the party recover. He also downplayed the recent religious action taken by Takht Patna Sahib against party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, saying it was politically motivated. Although Akal Takht later