Giani Harpreet Singh elected president of SAD breakaway faction

Former Akal Takht appearing jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh was elected because the president of the breakaway faction of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in a gathering of the delegate session held in Punjab’s Amritsar on Monday (August 11, 2025).

Apart from this, Satwant Kaur has been elected as chairperson of the ‘Panthic’ council of the faction.

The Akal Takht-appointed committee held the delegate session of the breakaway group of the SAD at Gurdwara Burj Akali Phoola Singh in Amritsar.

During the delegate session on Monday (August 11), the identify of Giani Harpreet Singh was proposed for the put up of president, whereas Satwant Kaur was proposed for the put up of chairperson of the Panthic council.

Giani Harpreet Singh, the previous jathedar of the Takht Sri Damdama Sahib, was a part of the Sikh clergy that had pronounced ‘tankhaiya’ (responsible of non secular misconduct) for SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and different Akali leaders on December 2, 2024.

In February, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) had dismissed the providers of Giani Harpreet Singh because the jathedar of Takht Sri Damdama Sahib.

Ms. Kaur is the daughter of the previous president of the All India Sikh Students Federation, Amrik Singh, who was an in depth affiliate of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, and was killed in Operation Bluestar in 1984.

The Akal Takht-appointed committee, which was given a mandate to oversee the reorganisation of the Shiromani Akali Dal in December final 12 months, comprised MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali, Iqbal Singh Jhunda, Santa Singh Umaidpur, former MLA Gurpartap Singh Wadala and Satwant Kaur.

On December 2 final 12 months, the Akal Takht, in its edict, shaped a seven-member panel to start out a membership drive and maintain elections for the put up of SAD president and workplace bearers inside six months.

‘Punishment’ to Badal

At that point, the very best temporal seat of Sikhs had pronounced “punishment” for Mr. Badal and others for the “sins” of the social gathering and its authorities in Punjab from 2007 to 2017.

Mr. Badal was declared ‘tankhaiya’ after insurgent leaders, together with Prem Singh Chandumajra, former SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur, ex-MLA Gurpartap Singh Wadala, and former minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa, appeared earlier than the Akal Takht on July 1, 2024, and sought forgiveness for the “mistakes” in the course of the SAD regime between 2007 and 2017.

SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami and former SGPC chief Kirpal Singh Badungar later resigned from the Akal Takht-appointed panel.

But the SAD working committee, in January, shaped its personal panel and initiated its membership drive, drawing criticism from the insurgent leaders for defying the Akal Takht directive.

On April 12, Mr. Badal returned to the helm of the SAD together with his unanimous election as president of the social gathering.

The Akal Takht-appointed committee, nevertheless, began a parallel membership drive in March. After completion of the drive and electing delegates, the committee held the delegate session for electing workplace bearers on Monday.