Punjab's Sangrur By-election : Panthik unity gets first jolt

Chandigarh: The much-hyped panthic unity took a beating with the filing of nomination papers by SAD(A) President Simranjit Singh Mann and SAD(B) announcing the candidature of Kamaldeep Kaur Rajoana, sister of Balwant Singh Ranoana, to be the party candidate from Sangrur parliamentary seat.

Following the drubbing of SAD(B) in the recently concluded Punjab assembly elections and near dematerialization of its breakaway factions, their think-tanks, in the recent past,  met to mull over their revival plan and zeroed in on the issue of ‘Bandi Singh’ (Sikh prisoners) which almost all of them had been taking up at their own level.

A Panthic Convention was held at Teja Singh Samundari Hall situated in Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) complex on May 11 where an eleven-member sub-committee was constituted to further the issue with Prime Minister and Home Minister.

The photograph released on the occasion showed political opponents such as Paramjit Singh Sarna, Simranjit Singh Mann, Sukhbir Badal, etc. sitting together and seriously contemplating on the release of Sikh prisoners.

The general impression was that a stage is being set up for a possible grand ‘Panthic Unity’ with leaders like Simranjit Singh Mann who had been vocal against Badal’s sinking its differences for a common cause.

But the fallacy didn’t last for long, the first crack has already appeared on the issue of nomination of candidates for the Sangrur parliamentary seat. While SAD(B) chose to field Kamaldeep Kaur Rajoana the SAD(A) president Simranjit Singh Mann filed his own nomination papers.

The Sangrur parliamentary seat was vacated after Bhagwant Singh Mann contested and won the assembly elections from the Dhuri assembly constituency to become the Chief Minister.

Keeping in view its criticism by other factions of Akali’s or Panthic organizations, the SAD(B) leadership chose not to lead the move to free Sikh prisoners itself but under the aegis of their own controlled SGPC.

The message of unity was also delivered by the officiating Jathedar of Akal Takht Giani Harpreet Singh.