Ex-SGPC president Bibi Kaur reaching out to members for support; back in race

New Delhi: Former Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Bibi Jagir Kaur is once again in the race for the top post of Sikh’s largest representative body and has also been reaching out to the SGPC members seeking their support. Kaur who has been the minister in the SAD(B) government didn’t make an impetuous decision to contest for the presidentship of SGPC but a well-considerate one and she has not even denied her aspirations in public and media. This is despite the fact that SAD(B) is yet to announce the name of the candidate of its choice for the crown of SGPC.

“Every SGPC member aspires to perform duties at a higher level” this is how Bibi Jagir Kaur justifies being in the race for the presidentship of SGPC though she denies going against the party lines. Notably, the SGPC’s General House session is scheduled to be held on November 9, a day after the birth anniversary of Sikh’s first master Guru Nanak Dev, at SGPC’s headquarters at Teja Singh Samundari Hall wherein SGPC’s president, vice president, and other office bearers will be elected. There are a total of 191 members in the SGPC,s house. One hundred and seventy members are elected from the states of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Chandigarh while 15 are co-opted from across the nation. 

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The SGPC includes five Sikh high priests and the head granthi of the Golden Temple. Twenty-six members have expired since the last SGPC elections, and two have resigned. Opposition groups have as many as 22 members. Kaur, who is also the president of Dera Sant Prem Singh Murale Wale in Begowal, has been embroiled in controversies, including the mysterious death of her daughter, but she has received overwhelming support from the Lubana community and praises their role in spreading Sikhism.

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Sikh intellectuals even a majority of SGPC members, both aligned with SAD(B) and opposition groups are of the view that it will be SAD(B) president  Sukhbir Singh Badal who will eventually pick up the candidate for the post of presidentship of SGPC while considering the political future of his party that could barely manage a handful of seats and was been pushed to margins in state polity after last assembly elections. The question is whether Bibi Jagir Kaur would rebel if the party chose to ignore her visible ascension to the SGPC throne by fielding another candidate. According to her political history, there appears to be little chance of Jagir Kaur rebelling and running for president on her own, but as an audacious leader, this could be interpreted as a move to put pressure on the party not to ignore her. On the other hand, the current incumbent of the seat, Advocate Harjinder Singh Dhami, is going out of his way to justify his candidacy to the party by publicly listing his accomplishments during his tenure.