Patiala: In a major boost for the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), former MP Prem Singh Chandumajra rejoined the party with which he had been associated for decades, along with his son Harinderpal Singh Chandumajra, on Friday. Chandumajra had quit SAD (Punar Surjit) on Wednesday.Chandumajra said an appeal by SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal for Panthic unity against what he described as anti-Punjab forces, including the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), had influenced his decision.Badal on Thursday announced former legislator Harinderpal Singh Chandumajra as the party’s in-charge for Sanaur after he rejoined the SAD in Patiala.SGPC member Jarnail Singh Kartarpur and several SAD (Punar Surjit) leaders from Patiala and Fatehgarh Sahib also joined the SAD. They had earlier resigned from their positions in SAD (Punar Surjit) and expressed support for Akali unity.Badal urged Akali leaders who had left the SAD to return in the interests of Punjab and the Panth. He said more former leaders would rejoin the party in the coming days and claimed that the SAD would win all Assembly seats in Patiala district.He said the Dec 2, 2024, hukamnama issued by the Akal Takht had mandated unity among all Akali factions. “By passing an edict to bake flour in one ‘chulha’, the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs conveyed its desire for Panthic unity,” he asserted.Harinderpal assured Badal that he would work to strengthen the SAD in Sanaur.
