Former SGPC chief Bibi Jagir Kaur has announced that her newly formed outfit, Shiromani Akali Panth, will provide a platform for those who wish to contest the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) polls. Her announcement came after the chief election commissioner gurdwara elections announced the process of updating electoral rolls to elect the SGPC members for the general house. Although the schedule is yet to be announced, it has set the ball rolling for the polls.
Kaur’s Shiromani Akali Panth, formed in memory of Sant Prem Singh Muralewale, aims to revive the old glory of SGPC by contesting the polls and ending political interference in its functioning. She has assured of restoring the autonomy of the apex gurdwara body. The SGPC general house comprises 191 members, with 170 members elected by Sikh voters, 15 co-opted and six sitting heads of Sikh temporal seats and the Golden Temple head priest.
The polling to elect SGPC members was to be done every five years, with the last SGPC general house elections held in 2011. In those elections, the Shiromani Akali Dal had won a majority in the House.
Kaur, who was once considered a Badal family loyalist, had remained SGPC chief in 1999, 2004, and 2020. However, she was later expelled by SAD after she stood for contesting the SGPC presidential poll in November last year.
In the recently held Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll, Kaur extended her support to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Shiromani Akali Panth will be a platform for Sikhs who wish to contest the SGPC polls.
