CHANDIGARH: With election for the 42nd president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committe (SGPC) scheduled for November 29, incumbent Jathedar Kirpal Singh Badungar’s pitch to get re-elected is getting tougher. Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal and party patron Parkash Singh Badal are reportedly unhappy with his functioning. Badungar had triggered a controversy by justifying the demand for Khalistan, which party leaders said was not on its agenda. Also, some appointments made by him are under the scanner of the Badals.
Former SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur, Sewa Singh Sekhwan, Rajinder Singh Mehta and Amarjeet Singh Chawla are also in the fray. Kaur, who had been convicted to five-year imprisonment for forcible abortion of her daughter, is out on bail. Sekhwan, too, has spoiled his chances by blaming the SAD leadership for its poor show in the Assembly elections while Mehta is blamed for mismanaging the Sikh affairs post-Bargari crisis, when two activists had been killed in 2015. Sources said Sukhbir will likely be authorised to select a candidate.