Putting up a spoilsport

Though the expulsion of veteran leader Gurcharan Singh Tohra from the Shiro-mani Akali Dal for six years will have no immediate bearing on the Badal government in Punjab, its long-term effects could be detrimental to the party. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal enjoys a clear majority in both the party8217;s legislature wing and the state assembly, where he has the unstinted support of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Other than a few supporters who had resigned their ministerial berths when the Tohra-Badal differences came into the open, Tohra has little support among the Akali Dal legislators. Earlier, he was ousted from the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee of which he had been the president for a record number of 25 years, by its general house, where the Badal faction enjoys a clear majority. The house had also replaced Akal Takht jathedar Bhai Ranjit Singh with Giani Puran Singh. With Tohra8217;s ouster on Friday, the process of cleansing the party of dissidents is now more or less complete.

Yet, Tohra maynot prove to be a pushover. He has, over the decades, built up a formidable political and religious base in the state. Moreover, the manner in which Bhai Ranjit Singh was ousted from the post of Jathedar of the Akal Takht has not gone well with a large section of Sikhs. The people8217;s empathy with the duo was evident during the Khalsa Tercentenary celebrations at Anandpur Sahib last month, where they drew large crowds. Tohra is now expected to float a separate political party. The shrewd politician that he is, he will try and forge an alliance with non-Congress and non-BJP parties like the Bahujan Samaj Party in the state. Issues like alleged non-governance of the state government, the raising of which after the Akali defeat in the Adampur byelection last year had caused the rift with Badal, still remain relevant. Besides, harping on the long-standing inter-state disputes, Tohra will try to make an issue of the alleged undermining of the Akal Takht by the Badal sarkar8217;.

Besides creating politicaluncertainty, the infighting among the Akalis will also revive fears of terrorism staging a comeback in the region, though the people have strongly withstood all the sinister attempts in this direction. But, coming as it does on the eve of the Lok Sabha elections, To-hra8217;s expulsion will cause confusion in the Akali Dal rank and file. The setback to the Badal faction in the elections to the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Management Committee last week is also being attributed to the feud. While the impact of the expulsion on the Lok Sabha polls in Punjab may not be significant, it could have a major effect on the next state assembly polls.

Already the existing Akali factions headed by leaders like Simranjit Singh Mann and Kuldip Singh Wadala have been depriving the Akali Dal Badal of a few thousand votes in some of the assembly constituencies. Un-doubtedly, Badal has tremendous goodwill among all sections of the people in the state. Under the circumstances, even if he combines with the BSP, Tohra may notbe able to forge a winning combination. But he can play a real spoilsport.