JALANDHAR: Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) won the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) elections by getting 27 of 46 seats but its main face in the election and committee president Manjinder Singh Sirsa lost the election to Harvinder Singh Sarna of SAD (Delhi) from Punjabi Bagh constituency by around 472 votes. Polling had taken place on August 22.
Sarna-led Shiromani Akali Dal (Delhi) got14 seats, its alliance partner Panthic Akali Lehar got one, Manjit Singh GK-led Jago got three and one independent candidate won.
Only around 37.27% of votes were polled but voter turnout was highest, at 54.12%, in the Punjabi Bagh constituency.
Divided oppn helped SAD, says Sarna
It was a very close fight at some seats. Sarna said that they lost six seats with a margin of less than 50 votes and three other seats with a margin of 100-120 votes. It is clear that the divided opposition helped SAD (Badal).
Sirsa and DSGMC general secretary Harmeet Singh Kalka were the face of the SAD (Badal) campaign and their work of the last two years was the main plank of the party. Interestingly, senior SAD leaders, including Sukhbir Badal and most of the other senior leaders from Punjab stayed away from campaigning in Delhi.After the results were out, SAD president Sukhbir Badal held a press conference at his residence in Delhi to congratulate the winners from his party. Sirsa alleged that BJP, Congress, and AAP had worked against him due to which he lost. He said that only his ward had gone through the process of delimitation.
This victory would help Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) to get the benefit of perception in Punjab too, especially at a time when Congress appears to be in a disarray.
Jagir nominates Sirsa to DSGMC
SGPC chief Bibi Jagir Kaur nominated Sirsa on Wednesday as an SGPC representative in the DSGMC. The SGPC executive committee had authorized her to pick up the name of a nominee for DSGMC.
