3-member SAD panel to analyse poor show
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday constituted a three-member committee to analyse the reasons behind the party’s below par performance in the Lok Sabha elections despite the Narendra Modi wave sweeping the country.
This was decided at a core committee meeting of the SAD that lasted two hours at the residence of chief minister Parkash Singh Badal here on Saturday evening. However, the SAD was silent on the timeframe given to the panel to submit its report.
Giving details, SAD general secretary Harcharan Bains told reporters that senior Akali leaders Tota Singh, Sewa Singh Sekhwan and Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal would be the members of the committee that would submit its report to the president after studying details of the results.
The SAD leader said that the party “always accepts the mandate of the people with humility”.
CANDIDATES POINT OUT THAT PROPERTY TAX, SCARCITY OF SAND AND GRAVEL, DRUG MENACE CONTRIBUTED TO ANTI-INCUMBENCY THAT AFFECTED PARTY’S PROSPECTS IN LS POLLS
Among those who attended the meeting were Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, Vidhan Sabha Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal, former Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon, Prem Singh Chandumajra, Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, Sucha Singh Langah, and Dr Daljit Singh Cheema.
The SAD candidates who were in the fray such as Parmjit Kaur Gulshan, Kulwant Singh, Manpreet Singh Ayali, Deepinder Singh Dhillon and Pawan Tinu also attended the meeting.
It is learnt that the SAD candidates pointed out that issues such as property tax, scarcity of sand and gravel, drug menace and anti-incumbency affected the party’s prospects. They reportedly raised the issue of the party receiving setbacks in the urban areas, primarily due to sharp rise in the collector rate with which property tax is linked. “We faced angry voters from villages to urban areas. We told the party leadership that something should be done to redress the grievances of the people urgently,” said a leader who attended the meeting.
Earlier, Rajya Sabha MP Dhindsa, who lost from Sangrur, told mediapersons that property tax had hit the party hard. “We will have to reduce the collector rate to give relief to the people,” he said.