States: Punjab; A SAD Affair

The state could be in for a fresh bout of instability as the internecine war in the Shiromani Akali Dal intensifies.

"The people of Punjab can rest assured that our dosti is permanent and will not break ... We have learnt our lessons and will not betray the mandate or let history repeat itself."

That was Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on his love-hate relationship with Gurcharan Singh Tohra, the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) chief, way back in February 1997 shortly after the Akali Dal-BJP combine swept the Punjab Assembly polls.

It has taken less than two years for the Badal-Tohra duo to live up to the reputation of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) being its own worst enemy. In the past, the familiar Akali trait of squabbles and political chicanery ensured that none of the four Akali-led regimes in Punjab completed a full term. Last week, Badal and Tohra were once again on a collision course, threatening to derail an Akali government for the fifth time.

The face-off was triggered by Tohra's asking Badal to step down from the post of the party president and concentrate instead on governance. Coming as it did in the wake of the party's stunning defeat in the Adampur assembly by-election at the hands of the Congress, Tohra's statement -- sudden though not unexpected -- prepared the pitch for a no-holds-barred confrontation. And when Badal loyalists launched a well-orchestrated campaign against Tohra, five ministers owing allegiance to the SGPC chief resigned on December 14, plunging the 22-month-old Akali-led coalition Government into its first major political crisis. The Badal camp was ready this time. Three days later the party's five-member Disciplinary Action Committee issued a show-cause notice to Tohra, asking him to explain within 15 days why action should not be taken against him for his remarks against the chief minister. The decision was unanimous.

However, before initiating action against Tohra, Badal had ensured that he had the support of a majority in the 73-member Akali Legislature Party and 18 BJP MLAs and therefore faced no imminent threat. But the showdown between two Akali stalwarts -- long-time fellow travellers and foes in Sikh politics -- portends yet another long- drawn power struggle in Akali ranks.

Recurrent Falls

March 1967: First non-Congress coalition government formed. 17 MLAs break away, bringing down the government after eight months.
February 1969: Akali-Jan Sangh (JS) coalition collapses in March '70 after a no-confidence motion. Badal forms government, but JS withdraws support.
March 1977: Badal heads a coalition. Indira Gandhi dismisses it in 1980 after Badal-Tohra rift.
September 1985: S.S. Barnala forms government. Dismissed in 1987 after Akali defections.

It was a crisis waiting to erupt. Ever since Badal emerged as the No. 1 last year, Tohra has been displaying his impatience at having to play second fiddle and has been shrewdly practising his pet "embarrass-and-bargain" tactics to assert his supremacy in Sikh religio-politics. In the less than two years that the combine has been in power, Tohra has issued over a 100 acerbic statements -- even against the BJP -- in an effort to create a wedge in the coalition.

Despite the taunts, Badal had so far soft-pedalled the issue. But he dropped a hint of an impending offensive against the SGPC chief when he cut Tohra to size in the ambitious plans to commemorate the 300th birthday of the Khalsa Panth in April next year. Since then, Tohra had been waiting to strike and the Adampur debacle provided him with the opportunity. By raising the demand for an acting president and describing Badal's performance as "poorer" than ever before, Tohra was evidently aiming at sowing confusion among the Akali ranks and stoking dissidence. For the pugnacious Badal camp, that proved to be the proverbial last straw. "It (demand for resignation) amounted to a public challenge to Badal's authority and was aimed at creating disaffection in the party," says Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, party general secretary and MP. Badal was quick to marshal his ministers, loyal MLAs, SGPC members, district jathedars and even began to woo the fence sitters. Once sure of his strength, Badal unleashed an aggressive counter-offensive, spearheaded by his son and Union Minister of State for Industry Sukhbir Singh.

The blows against Tohra came in quick succession, beginning with suspension of his loyalist from the party's 51-member working committee and the transfer of pro-Tohra police and administration officials. Taken aback by the all-out offensive, Tohra offered to resign from the SGPC if Badal asked him to. He seemed to have realised his move was ill-timed. But Badal spurned the olive branch and pushed through with the show-cause notice.

"Not taking Tohra head-on now would have loosened Badal's grip and credibility in the party," says state Finance Minister Kanwaljit Singh. Badal's son Sukhbir is more hawkish in his stand. "It's not going to be a half-way battle, it's a fight to the finish," declares Sukhbir, "which means Tohra's expulsion from the party and the SGPC."

Having initiated action in the party, the Badal camp plans to take the battle to the SGPC in January. The first moves have already begun. Last week, 10 of the 15 executive members of the SGPC demanded Tohra's resignation from the apex religious body. In an informal meeting on December 16, the pro-Badal members accused Tohra of sabotaging the Akali Government and torpedoing the tercentenary celebrations for "narrow political gains". Tohra held a parallel executive meeting in Amritsar. The Badal group, which has a majority in the 185-member SGPC General House, is preparing for a coup against Tohra when it meets in the third week of January.

Tohra's next move is still under wraps but he is likely to peg his anti-Badal tirade on a religious pitch. Tohra's game plan to rope in the Akal Takht jathedar Ranjit Singh met with a partial success, with the high priest advising the warring camps to sink their differences. Though Ranjit refused to broker any truce unless both camps approached him, he too has an axe to grind against Badal for being ignored in the Khalsa celebrations.

With the battlelines drawn, both Badal and Tohra stare trouble in the face. Badal has a political and religious minefield ahead to negotiate. Facing charges of a lacklustre performance by his Government and saddled with growing dissidence in the party, Badal's governance could suffer further as he now has to devote more time to checkmating Tohra. He will have to guard his flanks as well as keep his flock together. Tohra on his part, may try to emerge as the fulcrum of anti-Badal groups, including radical Akali factions. It's not the first time that Badal and Tohra have crossed swords, but the current showdown, coming as it does on the eve of the Khalsa celebrations, may not only revive competitive radical brand of politics, but also help revive the fringe fundamentalist elements who are waiting in the wings. Says political analyst Parmod Kumar: "Sharpening factionalism may weaken moderate Akali politics and give a fillip to fundamentalist ideology."

Fears that the Badal-Tohra feud may bedevil the peace in Punjab are not unfounded. In the past two years, the police have foiled two dozen attempts at reviving militancy by seizing nearly 300 kg of explosives. But, Badal discounts such fears, saying the people of Punjab don't want a return of the dark days. People, of course, have learnt their lessons. It's a pity the Akalis haven't.