Boost for Badal ahead of Tarn Taran bypoll—SAD’s Dhami re-elected as SGPC chief as rebels lose grip

Chandigarh: Harjinder Singh Dhami, Shiromani Akali Dal’s (SAD) candidate, has been re-elected president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) for a fifth consecutive term, in a boost to SAD leader Sukhbir Singh Badal ahead of next week’s Tarn Taran bypoll.

Of the 136 votes polled in the election held Monday, Dhami received 117 votes, beating the breakaway Akali Dal faction’s Mithu Singh Kahneke, who received 18 votes. One vote was declared invalid.

Last year, Dhami defeated Akali Dal rebel Bibi Jagir Kaur, getting 107 of the 142 votes polled. Kaur received 33 votes. The reduction of the rebel candidate’s vote this time points to a possible decline in the support base for the Akali Dal rebel group. Show Full Article

Kahneke, an SGPC member from Barnala, was the candidate