CHANDIGARH: With the crucial 2019 Lok Sabha elections just a few months away, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) suffered a major jolt on Sunday when rebel Akali leaders from the Majha region formally launched a new party, Shiromani Akali Dal (Taksali). SAD MP Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, known as ‘Majhe da Jarnail’ because of his popularity in the region, will lead the new party.
The decision was announced by the rebel leaders after paying obeisance at Akal Takhat (highest temporal seat of the Sikhs) in the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar. Brahmpura was accompanied by senior leader Sewa Singh Sekhwan and former MP Dr Rattan Singh Ajnala.
Sekhwan proposed the name of Brahmpura as the leader of the new party and Ajnala seconded it. Names of four other office-bearers will be announced later. Brahmpura said one of the aims of the party would be to liberate the Sikh religious institutions from the grip of the Badal family. The new party would adhere to the rules and regulations of the outfit set up in 1920 and would be democratic and secular, the leaders said.
The old guard leaders had raised a banner of revolt against SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and former minister Bikram Singh Majithia, accusing them of deviating from the Panthic agenda and causing irreparable damage to the Akali Dal. Brahmpura along with his son Ravinder Singh Brahmpura and Ajnala and his son Amarpal Singh Ajnala were expelled from SAD’s primary membership in November for six years for indulging in anti-party activities.
Sekhwan, Ajnala and Brahmpura have also called upon non-Akali parties, including expelled AAP MLA Sukhpal Singh Khiara and Lok Insaf Party of Bains brothers, to join hands, indicating at a possible amalgamation of disgruntled elements from all political outfits.
In another development, Patiala MP Dharamvir Gandhi, AAP rebel Khiara along with his MLAs and BSP state president Rashpal Raju announced the formation of Punjab Democratic Alliance, a political formation of like-minded leaders.