Giani Harpreet Singh elected president of SAD breakaway faction

Former Akal Takht acting jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh was elected as the president of the breakaway faction of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in a meeting of the delegate session held in Punjab’s Amritsar on Monday (August 11, 2025).

Apart from this, Satwant Kaur has been elected as chairperson of the ‘Panthic’ council of the faction.

The Akal Takht-appointed committee held the delegate session of the breakaway group of the SAD at Gurdwara Burj Akali Phoola Singh in Amritsar.

During the delegate session on Monday (August 11), the name of Giani Harpreet Singh was proposed for the post of president, while Satwant Kaur was proposed for the post of chairperson of the Panthic council.

Giani Harpreet Singh, the former jathedar of the Takht Sri Damdama Sahib, was part of the Sikh clergy that had pronounced ‘tankhaiya’ (guilty of religious misconduct) for SAD leader Sukhbir Singh Badal and other Akali leaders on December 2, 2024.

In February, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) had dismissed the services of Giani Harpreet Singh as the jathedar of Takht Sri Damdama Sahib.

Ms. Kaur is the daughter of the former president of the All India Sikh Students Federation, Amrik Singh, who was a close associate of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, and was killed in Operation Bluestar in 1984.

The Akal Takht-appointed committee, which was given a mandate to supervise the reorganisation of the Shiromani Akali Dal in December last year, comprised MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali, Iqbal Singh Jhunda, Santa Singh Umaidpur, former MLA Gurpartap Singh Wadala and Satwant Kaur.

On December 2 last year, the Akal Takht, in its edict, formed a seven-member panel to start a membership drive and hold elections for the post of SAD president and office bearers within six months.

‘Punishment’ to Badal

At that time, the highest temporal seat of Sikhs had pronounced “punishment” for Mr. Badal and others for the “sins” of the party and its government in Punjab from 2007 to 2017.

Mr. Badal was declared ‘tankhaiya’ after rebel leaders, including Prem Singh Chandumajra, former SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur, ex-MLA Gurpartap Singh Wadala, and former minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa, appeared before the Akal Takht on July 1, 2024, and sought forgiveness for the “mistakes” during the SAD regime between 2007 and 2017.

SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami and former SGPC chief Kirpal Singh Badungar later resigned from the Akal Takht-appointed panel.

But the SAD working committee, in January, formed its own panel and initiated its membership drive, drawing criticism from the rebel leaders for defying the Akal Takht directive.

On April 12, Mr. Badal returned to the helm of the SAD with his unanimous election as president of the party.

The Akal Takht-appointed committee, however, started a parallel membership drive in March. After completion of the drive and electing delegates, the committee held the delegate session for electing office bearers on Monday.