CHANDIGARH: With the election to the general house of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee approaching in October next, the political scenario is hitting up in Punjab. This ime the election has an added significance of consolidation of rich would have 4 direct bearing on the forthcoming Assembly elections. The major political parties in the fray include the Badal, Amritsar and Panthic factions of the Akalis and the Bahujan Samaj Party, besides some other organizations. The Gurdwara Election Commission has already allotted election symbols to Shiromani Akali Dal led by Parkash Singh Badal, Akali Dal (Amritsar) headed by Simranjit Singh Mann and Akali Dal (Panthic). These parties have been allotted symbols of tractor, horse and railway engine respectively. The formal notification would be issued on September 4 and the election is slated for October 13.
Interestingly, Badal last week expressed his apprehension of interference by the center and creating hurdles in this election and warned against such activities. Senior Akali Dal (Badal) leader Gurcharan Singh Tohra has been dominating the SGPC for the last 20 years. Whether his domination would continue Temagqins to be seen because it depends on the criteria which is likely to be adopted for the distribution of tickets by his party. Sources maintain that at the time of merger of a section of Akali Dal (Amritsar) in the Badal faction, the share of both the factions in all the party bodies was to be in the ratio of 55:45. This is reflected in the constitution of the working committee and the i political affairs committee. Senior party leaders assert that the same formula would be adopted in the allotment of tickets in this election also. Further, there has to be a division out of 45% among Tohra, Surjit Singh Bamala and Jagdev Singh Talwandi which would further put Tohra to disadvantage. However, party leaders do not rule out some concession to Tohra. It has been decided that the sitting members whose near relatives are employed in the SGPC would be denied tickets. This would debar majority of them. New faces would dominate. Badal has invited the ticket seekers to personally appear at various places for interview. The aspirants from Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Patti have been invited to meet him at Amritsar on August 25, Jalandhar, Nawanshahar, Hoshiarpur and Kapurthala at Jalandhar on August 26, Fatehgarh Sahib, Patiala, Ropar, Haryana, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh at Fatehgarh Sahib on August 27, Ludhiana and Sangrur at Ludhiana on August 30, Muktsar, Bathinda and Mansa at Muktsar on August 31 and from Ferozepur, Faridkot and Moga at Muktsar on September 1. The Akali Dal (Amritsar) and Akali Dal (Panthic) leaders are also holding their meetings their candidates. The BSP has entered into an alliance with Akali Dal (Panthic) for these elections but the sources do not rule rethinking in the BSP to join hands with Mann.
Article extracted from this publication >> August 28, 1996
