Sukhbir Singh Badal inducts 31 independent councillors into Shiromani Akali Dal; claims party surge in civic bodies

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Shiromani Akali Dal Sukhbir Singh Badal today inducted 31 of the 51 independent candidates who were elected as councillors in the recent civic polls and have extended support to the party. The remaining 20 councillors will be inducted into the party shortly.

Addressing a press conference here, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal said that with 51 independent councillors expressing their support for the SAD, the total number of wards won under the party’s influence has risen to 243. The party had won 192 wards on its own symbol.

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Mr. Badal also announced that the SAD had secured a complete majority in nine municipal committees, compared to six committees won by the Congress and two by the Bharatiya Janata Party. The committees where the SAD has secured a majority include Maluka (9/11), Kot Shamir (11/13), Bhagta Bhaika (7/13), Bhucho (7/13), Nathana (7/11), Lehra Mohabbat (8/11), Sangat (6/9), Kot Fatta (8/11), and Rahon (10/13).

He further said that the SAD had secured the highest number of votes in several committees, including Faridkot, Mehraj, Majitha, and Maur. “At many places, our candidates were declared defeated despite securing the highest votes,” he said.

He cited the example of Zirakpur, where a SAD candidate was shown in the Returning Officer’s certificate to have secured the highest votes but was later declared defeated against the Aam Aadmi Party candidate. Similar cases were also cited in Malout, Muktsar, and Kot Fatta.

Expressing satisfaction with the results despite alleged attempts by the Aam Aadmi Party government to reject SAD nominations and misuse administrative and police machinery, Mr. Badal said the SAD performed better than the Congress.

He said the party was allowed to contest 1,251 seats compared to 1,550 contested by the Congress. “Despite contesting 300 fewer seats, the Congress could win only about 150 more seats than the SAD,” he added.

The SAD president further alleged that repression by the AAP government, including the arrest of the party’s district president Satish Grover in Faridkot and action against Akali workers in Majitha, had created public resentment against the government. “They will be taught an appropriate lesson in the forthcoming Assembly elections,” he said.

Responding to a media query, Mr. Badal said that a recent case registered against Mr. Bikram Majithia was part of a political vendetta by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

He alleged that a day before the case, AAP leader Talbir Gill had forcibly secured the release of his worker from police custody, yet no action was taken against him, while Bikram Majithia was being targeted through a false case.