The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) may be hoping to sweep the Assembly elections in Punjab, but the Sikhs who voted for the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee have swept off the AAP.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) won by a huge margin in 35 of the 46 seats. Their traditional rivals, the SAD(Delhi), led by Paramjit Singh Sarna and believed to be a Congress-backed party, won just seven seats. Independents and others got four seats.
The DGMC controls the gurdwaras in the national capital, and has an annual income—from offerings—in excess of Rs 700 crores. The committee runs schools, colleges and hospitals in the city, and has a sway over the Sikh voters of the capital.
Sukhbir Badal, president of the SAD, is sweating to fight anti-incumbency in Punjab. In a statement issued on Friday, he pointed out that the AAP has been rejected by the Sikhs.
