In a significant political shift, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has secured victories in the very villages that were central to its dramatic downfall nearly a decade ago. The party won seats in the rural body elections for Behbal Khurd and Sarawan, two villages in the Jaito panchayat samiti of Faridkot district, Punjab.
The Ghosts of 2015: A Painful Backstory
The political importance of these wins is deeply tied to the tragic events of 2015. In October of that year, widespread protests erupted across Punjab following the Bargari sacrilege incident. On October 12, police opened fire on a crowd of protesters at Behbal Kalan, killing two men: Krishan Bhagwan Singh from Behbal Khurd and Gurjit Singh from Sarawan.
Public anger was directed squarely at the then ruling SAD-BJP alliance. The backlash was so severe that it led to the party's decimation in the 2017 assembly elections, where it was pushed to a distant third position. The party hit another low when its strength in the 117-member state assembly was reduced to a single legislator after defections.
Election Results and Mixed Reactions
In the recent rural polls, the Akali Dal won the Behbal Khurd zone by a margin of 441 votes. For party workers, this marks a symbolic recovery of lost ground after over a decade of struggle.
However, the victories have reopened old wounds for the families of the victims. Sukhraj Singh, son of the late Krishan Bhagwan Singh, expressed his dismay. "Even as people are unhappy with the ruling Aam Aadmi Party, allowing Akali Dal victory is not right," he said. "People should have thought twice before voting for the party responsible for the killing of two protesters, including my father."
A Path to Political Revival?
Senior Akali Dal leaders view these wins as a critical turning point. Suba Singh Badal, the party's in-charge for the Jaito assembly constituency, stated, "We have been saying from the beginning that the Akali Dal government had nothing to do with the sacrilege incident. We were wrongly blamed, and now people have realised it." He believes the victories will "open the gates for the party to make inroads in the state again."
The results have also surprised political observers. A senior Congress leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, admitted that the Akali Dal winning from these two specific villages was unexpected, given their history as the catalyst for the party's decline.
These rural body election results signal a potential recalibration of Punjab's political landscape, suggesting that voter memory and allegiances are evolving, even in areas scarred by profound tragedy.
