In spite of Bibi Jagir Kaur’s defiant attitude, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today declared Harjinder Singh Dhami as its official candidate for the post of SGPC president.
Twitter was used by SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema to announce the party’s decision. “According to Cheema, Sukhbir Singh Badal, SAD’s president, has announced that Harjinder Singh Dhami will be SAD’s presidential candidate for the SGPC elections on November 9,” said Badal.
On November 9, Teja Singh Samundri Hall in Golden Temple complex will host the general house meeting to elect the president and other office bearers.
SGPC’s 10 members must be elected each year, unanimously during the general house or by voting, if necessary, by electing the Sikh Gurdwara Board presidents, senior and junior vice presidents, general secretary, and 11 members of the executive body.
With 191 members, 15 of them are co-opted, the House has a total of 191 members. The ballot papers are used to elect 170 people. A total of 15 co-opted members, including five Takht Jathedars and the head granthi of the Golden Temple, are not eligible to vote.
Currently, there are 157 members in the House. There have been 26 deaths in the organization, while two members have resigned — Sucha Singh Langah and Sharanjit Singh.
Dhami hails from Piplan Wala village in Hoshiarpur district and is a loyalist of the Badal family. It is not the first time he has been associated with the SGPC. His SGPC membership dates back to 1996. With four decades of experience in legal and religious matters, he is a lawyer with a good reputation. His administrative skills are well known.
His tenure as 44th president of the Sikh body was not controversial after he replaced Bibi Jagir Kaur during the elections of 2021-2022.
While Bibi has been under fire from the party for going ‘outside the party lines’ to contest again and meeting members outside the party’s purview. It did not go down well with the party leadership, so the disciplinary committee suspended her and served her with a 48-hour notice to explain her actions.