Sirsa win weakens SAD in Delhi, BJP gains ground among Sikh voters

JALANDHAR: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which took great delight in how the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was crushed in the Delhi assembly elections and its supremo Arvind Kejriwal lost his own seat, itself has ceded more ground to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the national capital.

SAD's Delhi unit campaigned actively against former Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) president Maninder Singh Sirsa, and yet the BJP candidate from Rajouri Garden secured a decisive victory by 18,190 votes, indicating that a significant portion of the Sikh electorate had backed him. His open campaigners included DSGMC president Harmeet Singh Kalka and his faction, who aligned with the BJP and supported its candidates in multiple constituencies. BJP's Sikh candidates performed well, with Sirsa winning Rajouri Garden, Tarwinder Singh Marwah taking Jangpura, and Arvinder Singh Lovely securing Gandhi Nagar. Meanwhile, out of the four Sikh candidates fielded by AAP, Jarnail Singh won from Tilak Nagar, while Punardeep Singh Sahwhney claimed victory in Chandni Chowk.

Sirsa was a key figure for SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal in Delhi's political landscape until his defection to the BJP in Dec 2021, shortly before the Punjab assembly elections. His departure dealt a major blow to the Badal family, as he had served as SAD's Delhi unit president and been instrumental in party affairs. Despite his losing the DSGMC election in 2021, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) was swift in nominating him as its representative in the DSGMC on the voting day itself.

SAD's decline continued following its heavy defeat in the 2022 Punjab elections. Shortly afterward, DSGMC president Kalka and several members broke ties with SAD, forming a new, non-political Sikh organisation focused solely on gurdwara affairs. Subsequently, Sukhbir Badal sought to regain influence by forging alliances with former Delhi rivals Paramjit Singh Sarna and Manjit Singh GK, both ex-presidents of the DSGMC. However, despite their joint campaign, Sirsa won.