Gurugram: Independent candidates won as many as 22 out of the total 40 seats in the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC) elections that also saw Sikh preacher Baljit Singh Daduwal end up among the losing candidates.
None of the office bearers of the ad hoc HSGMC constituted by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government won in the first election held to elect members of the committee that came into existence in 2014.
Daduwal, who heads the religious preaching committee of the Haryana government-appointed ad hoc committee, lost in Ward 35, Kalanwali, by a margin of 1,771 votes.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-backed Haryana Sikh Panthik Dal won just six seats. As the Sukhbir Badal-led Akali Dal was not allowed to contest in the HSGMC polls, it had backed the Haryana Sikh Panthik Dal in the polls held Sunday.
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Haryana’s 22 districts were divided into 40 wards in which 164 candidates, including seven women, were in the fray. Electronic voting machines (EVMs) were used for voting. The results for all seats were declared by late evening.
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Saini had wished all the candidates the best as the election process started on Sunday morning. The highest voter turnout was recorded in Kalanwali at 90 percent, while Kaithal had the lowest at 56 percent.
With 10 winning candidates, Jagdish Singh Jhinda’s Panthak Dal (Jhinda) emerged the party with the maximum seats. The SAD (B)’s Haryana Sikh Panthak Dal secured five seats, and Didar Singh Nalvi’s Sikh Samaj Sanstha won three, highlighting the diverse political landscape.
Jhinda said that after the election of 40 members, the elected members will nominate nine more members. A total of 49 members will be sworn in by the Haryana Gurdwara Election Commissioner. This committee will then elect office bearers, including the president, senior vice-president, vice-president, and general secretary.
“The Sikh Sangat of Haryana has given a clear message in elections to the Haryana Shiromani Committee that it will not accept those who interfere in the internal affairs of the Panth. This is why the entire faction of Baljit Singh Daduwal, who is a tout of central agencies, has been soundly completely,” Sukhbir posted Monday on ‘X’
“It is also a defeat for the forces who created a separate gurdwara management committee for Haryana by breaking the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.”
Jhinda told The Print that he was in touch with the winning members, adding that he would announce his next course of action by the evening. “The outgoing ad hoc committee had greatly disappointed the community. This sentiment was reflected in the voting.”
He asserted that the government-appointed Sikh preacher Daduwal has himself lost and his group’s influence has shrunk to just two or three wards.
Thanking the community for the mandate given to his outfit, Jhinda expressed optimism that the new committee would be ready to serve the Sikh institutions and community by 25 January.
Jhinda was among the first few Sikhs from Haryana along with Didar Singh Nalvi to have launched a campaign for a separate gurdwara management body by getting the Haryana Gurdwara Management Committee (ad hoc) registered in 2003.
Similarly, Nalvi told The Print that many of the winning candidates were in touch with him. “My only wish is to set up an honest committee to manage Sikh Gurdwaras in Haryana,” he added.
Meanwhile, senior SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema claimed that the Haryana Sikh Panthik Dal has won six seats while also having the support of 12 Independents.
“In spite of all the hurdles created by the Haryana government, the SAD & its alliance partners have won 18 seats in the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee elections today,” Cheema tweeted Sunday evening.
The former Punjab minister added that the Haryana Sikh Panthic Dal won six seats while its supporters won 12 other seats as Independents on different symbols. “We had a pre-poll adjustment.”
Baldev Singh Kaimpuri, the leader of the Haryana Sikh Panthic Dal, too, claimed that a total of 18 candidates, including direct and supported ones, have emerged victorious. Kaimpuri told ThePrint that he plans to meet with the victorious candidates and other stakeholders soon to determine the next steps. On the possibility of collaborating with the Jhinda faction, he said no option can be ruled out.
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Winning candidates
Naraingarh saw Gurjeet Singh Dhamouli of the Haryana Sikh Panthak Dal emerge victorious, while Rupinder Singh Panjokhra of the Sikh Samaj Sanstha won from Ambala Cantt.
The Ambala City seat went to Gurtez Singh of the Sikh Samaj Sanstha. Jogga Singh of the Panthak Dal (Jhinda) emerged victorious in Jagadhri, while Baldev Singh of the Haryana Sikh Panthak Dal won in Bilaspur. Kuldeep Singh of Panthak Dal (Jhinda) claimed Pehowa, while his colleague Indeerjeet Singh wrested Murtzapur.
Shahbad went to Didar Singh of the Sikh Samaj Sanstha, and Jasbir Kaur Mansa of the Haryana Sikh Panthak Dal clinched Ladwa. Kapur Kaur of Panthak Dal (Jhinda) triumphed in Nilokheri. Jagdish Singh from Panthak Dal (Jhinda) secured Assandh.
Major Singh of Panthak Dal (Jhinda) won from Guhla. Kaithal went to Baldev Singh of Panthak Dal (Jhinda). In Panipat, Mohanjeet Singh of the Haryana Sikh Panthak Dal emerged as winner, while Karnail Singh of Panthak Dal (Jhinda) triumphed in Jind. Kaka Singh of Panthak Dal (Jhinda) secured Rattangarh. Faridabad voted for Ravinder Singh of the Haryana Sikh Panthak Dal.
Some of the winning Independents include Iqbal Singh (Ratia), Balwinder Singh (Hisar), Kuldeep Singh (Rori), Kuldeep Singh (Dabwali), Harjeet Singh (Rania), Gurpal Singh (Ellenabad), Gurmez Singh (Sirsa), Prakash Singh Sahuwala (Nathusari Chopta), Binder Singh (Kalanwali), Amritpal Singh (Bara Gudha), Jagtar Singh (Pipli), Tajinder Pal Singh (Gurugram), Amanpreet Kaur (Tohana), Balwinder Singh (Kangthli), Harmanpreet Singh (Thanesar), Palvinder Singh (Karnal), Gurmeet Singh (Kalka), Swaran Singh (Panchkula), Gurbir Singh Chhina (Radaur), Rajinder Singh (Barara), and Sukhdev Singh (Naggal).
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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