Harjinder Singh Dhami, Loyalist of Badal, Re-elected as SGPC Chief

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) nominee and Badal family loyalist, Harjinder Singh Dhami was elected the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president for the fourth time in succession yesterday defeating three-time Sikh body chief Bibi Jagir Kaur.
Out of the 142 votes, Dhami received 107 and Bibi Jagir Kaur managed to garner 33 votes. Two of them were declared invalid.

Out of the 148 members, 142 reported to the Teja Singh Samundri Hall in the Golden Temple complex here to exercise their franchise for the top post of the apex Gurdwara body.

Raghujit Singh Virk was elected as the senior vice-president unopposed. Baldev Singh Kalyan and Sher Singh were elected as the junior vice-president and general secretary, respectively.

The 11-member executive was also nominated unanimously.

Dhami has been the head of SGPC for four successive terms since 2021. Earlier, he had superseded Bibi Jagir Kaur as the head of the chief in the period 2021-2022.
As per the Gurdwara Act of 1925, the SGPC must have its body renewed once in every year by getting the election done for choosing the president, senior vice-president, junior vice-president, general secretary, and a 15-member body for executive functions.

This is most likely the last annual election of the current body. The Chief Gurdwara Election Commission has announced the holding of the SGPC general elections for a five-year term.

The rebel group of the Shiromani Akali Dal had already announced senior leader Bibi Jagir Kaur (70) as its candidate for the SGPC polls.

She had been the SGPC president thrice: 1999, 2004, and 2020. She is the SAD candidate. In 2000, she had to resign as the head of the SGPC. She was accused of killing her 19-year-old daughter.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had filed a first information report against her. In 2018, though, she was acquitted by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

In 2022, Kaur rebelled against SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and even contested SGPC elections unsuccessfully in that year. She was expelled for "anti-party" activities but rejoined the Badal faction in March this year before the Lok Sabha elections.