AAP vs Akali Dal flares as Sukhbir Badal makes ‘Dharam Yudh Morcha’ pitch against Bhagwant Mann

What began as a controversy in Punjab over a viral video has now snowballed into a major political confrontation between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), with Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal going all out to take on each other in an escalating conflict ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.

The turning point came on June 15 when the Sikh clergy led by acting Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj declared Mann a “guru dokhi” (anti-guru) and “Khalsa panth virodhi” (anti-Khalsa panth) over a “sacrilege video” allegedly involving the CM.

The Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of authority for Sikhs, claimed forensic examinations had found the video authentic and not AI-generated, accusing Mann of “misleading” it by claiming that the video was fake.

Sukhbir Badal claimed that forensic labs had found the video “totally authentic” and challenged Mann to approach the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and undergo a lie-detection test to prove his innocence.

Mann and the AAP, however, rejected the allegation that he had featured in the purported video. The CM maintained he was not the person seen in the video and termed it a “politically motivated conspiracy”. A state government forensic report also contradicted the Akal Takht’s findings.

On Thursday, Badal announced that his party will launch a “Dharam Yudh Morcha” on July 19 under the “patronage” of the Akal Takht to seek Mann’s removal as the CM. He alleged that Mann had been found guilty of “committing sacrilege” and “most unforgivable outrage against the honour and sacred glory” of the Sikh gurus.

Mann hit back the same day while addressing a public programme in Phagwara. He targeted the Badal family and blamed former CM late Parkash Singh Badal, Sukhbir’s father, for the 1978 Sikh-Nirankari clash in Amritsar, a watershed event that left 13 Sikhs and three Nirankaris dead and is widely regarded as a turning point in Punjab’s recent fraught history.

The AAP has also launched a counter-offensive on social media, describing Sukhbir Badal as “history’s biggest panth dokhi”, citing allegations ranging from the 2015 Behbal Kalan police firing after sacrilege incidents to the alleged misuse of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), to promotion of allegedly tainted police officers during the SAD regime from 2007 to 2017.

While other Opposition parties like the Congress and BJP have also criticised Mann and demanded his resignation, it is the AAP and SAD that are directly engaged in an escalating showdown as each eyes the crucial 2027 polls.

The renewed spotlight on the SAD comes at a time when the party’s electoral fortunes are at its lowest ebb. The SAD won only three seats in the 2022 Assembly elections and has since been reduced to a single legislator after defections.

Dharam Yudh Morcha

Through the video row and the Dharam Yudh Morcha, the SAD seems to be looking to reclaim its political salience and position itself as the key Opposition voice on an emotive issue in Punjab.

In 1982, the SAD had first launched a similar Dharam Yudh Morcha, with the support of Sikh militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, seeking to protect Sikh rights. The agitation was aimed at pressing the Centre to accept the demands contained in the Anandpur Sahib Resolution, which sought greater autonomy for states, protection of Sikh religious rights and resolution of several Punjab-related political, economic and river-water issues.

The movement began with peaceful protests, but gradually coincided with a period of rising militancy and increasing confrontation between Sikh groups and the Centre.

This time, however, the Dharam Yudh Morcha announced by the SAD chief has a distinctly different context and objective. Unlike the 1982 agitation, which was directed against the Centre over a wider set of political and religious demands, the proposed morcha is focused on the Punjab government in general and CM Mann in particular.

Appealing for wider support for Mann’s removal, Badal called upon religious organisations, Sikh jathebandis (community groups), Sant Samaj (spiritual leaders), intellectuals, social organisations and leaders across political parties to join the proposed agitation.

Meanwhile, amid growing buzz over a BJP-SAD reunion, Punjab BJP spokesperson Pritpal Singh Baliawal said while commenting on the Dharam Yudh Morcha that “If they (SAD) will approach us, we will definitely welcome them as we already abide by the Akal Takht directive. The matter is serious and involves the CM himself and the CM can’t give a clean chit to himself… The matter should have a judicial inquiry.”

With the Punjab elections barely eight months away, the agitation may have political ramifications amid the ruling camp’s “anti-incumbency” concerns. The AAP has, however, dismissed the proposed stir as just a “politically motivated exercise” by the Akali Dal to regain its lost ground in Punjab politics.