The long, steep road ahead of the Akali Dal

Disappointing performance of Shiromani Akali Dal The recent by-election to the (SAD) Sangrur Lok Sabha seat in Punjab provides yet another grim reminder of the crisis faced by the party. The SAD finished last in the quadrilateral contest, getting fewer votes than the debutant Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). What is particularly unlucky for the party? Rival Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) president Simranjit Singh Mannu’s unexpected victoryFirst success for his party in any election since 1999. Given that the constituency falls in the Malwa region, a SAD stronghold, the decision is a re-affirmation of the party’s shifting of its core social sector of rural Sikhs to other parties. like Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and even the rival Akali Dal in this case.

This comes after the SAD’s dismal results in the Punjab Assembly elections earlier this year, winning only three seats (in a single house of 117) and securing 18.38% of the vote, compared to 15 seats and 25.24 per cent votes in the 2017 polls. The SAD also fared poorly in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, managing only two seats out of 13 constituencies in the state.

What explains the decline of a party, which until recently had shown great perseverance in maintaining its organizational presence and core social constituency and has remained electorally relevant throughout its more than 100 years of existence in a state, Electoral instability is marked for changing party loyalty. Not to mention the many short-lived parties in the 1980s and early 1990s when politics moved to an extra-constitutional space? The following factors may be considered in this regard.

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religious vote shift

First, there has been a marked shift from the panthic vote to the party, which has claimed to be the ‘sole representative’ and defender of the interests of the Sikh community in Punjab and elsewhere since its inception in 1920. However, in the eyes of the pious Sikhs, the biggest sin of the party leadership (read the Badal family) has been to take away the autonomy of the government. Shiromani Gurdwara Management Committee (SGPC) and the Akal Takht, the other two institutions that have historically shared power and authority with the party. This has weakened the party’s traditional hold on the Sikh masses.

Second, the SAD has also been seen deviating from its religious agenda. Khalsa will rule, Traditionally a Sikh party, it was trying to broaden its support base and in the recent elections had included Hindus and given them tickets. More importantly, it had also sought electoral support from the controversial Deras. The party, when in power, was criticized for its handling of sacrilege of the Sikh holy scripture and subsequent police firing against protesters in Faridkot in 2015.

Third, the SAD leadership’s initial support for the controversial agriculture bills while being part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government at the Center tarnished its image of being a party of ‘farmers’ (read Zat Sikhs, landlords). facing the danger of further losing its core social sector in September 2020 Party broke ties with BJP of late And gave his support to the agitating farmers. But the damage was already done. Moreover, the breakup meant the loss of important urban Hindu votes for the party and exposed its ‘corrupt’ leaders to investigative agencies.

Fourth, the party has not done enough to broaden the social base of its leadership even within the Sikh community. In a state where nearly a third of the population belongs to the Scheduled Castes, which includes a significant number of Sikhs, almost the entire top leadership of the party comes from the landlord and numerically strong Jat Sikh community, which is known for a heterogeneous power structure. The testament is what defines the politics of the state. Even the upper caste Khatri and Arora Sikhs are little represented in leadership roles. This meant that the party had a very narrow stable support base among the Jat Sikh landlord farmers, which is moving towards the AAP. Congress always had good support among them.

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Fifth, the party may have been fighting on issues of governance and development in the last six assembly elections, but its record on both fronts has been quite disappointing. Its reckless economic populism is widely considered to be responsible for driving the state into heavy indebtedness. The much hyped ‘Second Green Revolution’, the establishment of agro-based industries and the construction of industrial centers all remained on paper. The agrarian crisis deepened and under the watch of the Akali Dal, farmer suicides continued again and again. Not that the Congress in power did much, but given its traditional rural support base, the SAD has lost its credibility. The allegations against the party leadership Promoting Institutional Corruption and Gangster/Mafia Raj, Most damaging to the party’s image has been allegations that its leaders have participated in a drug menace, which has affected an entire generation and has been a major issue against both the Akali Dal and the Congress in recent elections. AAP, which has never been in power till now, emerged as a huge beneficiary by default.

Finally, the once cadre-based party has turned into a ‘dynastic party’, as has happened with many state-level parties, including older ones such as the DMK and the National Conference. The ‘legacy’ Sukhbir Singh Badal, who is at the helm of party and government affairs, has not been able to establish himself as a leader and still retains the popular image of being a businessman in politics.

Need a new social profile

Does this mean it is the end of the road for SAD? It cannot be summed up so briefly – in its 100 years of existence, it has seen many crises and threats of near oblivion, but has shown perseverance and resilience to overcome them. However, it is clear that the party will have to Adopt a new social profile and attitude And a return to its once famous democratic roots to halt this massive decline.

, Ashutosh Kumar is a Professor in the Department of Political Science, Panjab University. Views expressed are personal)