The birth of a new, self-styled ‘Panthic’ party in Punjab, at a time when the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) shows signs of emerging from its decade-long crisis of credibility, is bound to have mixed effects on the political landscape of the border state.

On the one hand, the new party, mooted by jailed MP Amritpal Singh, is decidedly radical in ideology. The Dubai-returned preacher-activist, arrested under the NSA in 2023, has arrogated to himself the task of representing Sikh interests, on the premise that the SAD—the traditional Panthic party—has failed to do so. If this overtly hardline outfit gains control of the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), the fallout could be serious.

On the other hand, this development is likely to galvanise the SAD into reclaiming the Jat Sikh vote base it alienated during a decade (2007–2017) of self-serving governance. The resignation of former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal as party president, his 10-day public penance at the behest of the supreme religious authority of the Sikhs (Akal Takht), and the assassination attempt on him during that period mark a critical starting point.

Encouragingly, Badal has projected a moderate stance as the best way forward for Punjab and the Sikhs. He........

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