Akali Dal To Continue "Punjab Bachao" Rallies Despite Attack On Sukhbir Badal

The Shiromani Akali Dal has decided to go ahead with its pre scheduled "Punjab Bachao" rallies despite the attack on party president Sukhbir Singh Badal, but there is no word yet on whether Sukhbir himself will lead or address the rallies.

Senior Akali leader Daljit Singh Cheema said the rallies will be held as scheduled, asserting that the attack cannot dent the party's "courage and determination" to continue speaking and fighting for the Panth, Punjab and Punjabis. He said conspiracies to sabotage the party's resurgence would be defeated with the grace of Akal Purakh, the Gurus and the sangat.

The rallies had been planned before the attack, but Sukhbir's possible participation now assumes significance. If he does take the stage, it would send a strong message of resilience, while also raising fresh questions over his security. If he stays away, the party will have to balance its political mobilisation with concerns over the safety of its leadership.

Bikram Majithia has described the attack as a "major conspiracy to eliminate Punjab's moderate leadership". Referring to it as the second deadly attack on Sukhbir inside a Guru Ghar in one and a half years, Majithia questioned who had "taken the contract" to have Akali Dal leaders killed and said the party would not remain silent.

The attack has also revived a larger concern within the Akali Dal about the safety of Punjab's moderate political leadership. The reference to the militancy era is particularly significant, when political and religious figures representing the moderate space were repeatedly caught in the crossfire of violence and extremism.

The immediate political question, however, is whether the attack will generate sympathy for Sukhbir and the Akali Dal among voters. The rallies could offer the party an early opportunity to gauge public sentiment, even though it remains unclear whether Sukhbir will personally address them.

For the Akali Dal, the challenge is to project political resilience without exposing its leadership to further security risks. Whether the party's return to the streets translates into sympathy, mobilisation or merely another political confrontation will become clearer as the rally programme unfolds.