Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal. File | Photo credit: The Hindu
In a bid to revive its electoral fortunes in Punjab, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which has been going through a rough patch since losing power in 2017, is launching an aggressive early campaign to reconnect with voters ahead of the 2027 state assembly elections.
The party on Saturday (January 24, 2026) announced plans to hold a series of rallies in all Assembly constituencies in the state starting next month to highlight developments so far and present its vision for the state’s future.
The announcement came at a meeting of district chairmen and constituency in-charges chaired by SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, where the party outlined its strategy to reconnect with voters ahead of the 2027 polls.
“Successive SAD governments have brought unprecedented development in the state, making it energy surplus, connecting major cities with four-lane roads, setting up new thermal power plants and airports and overhauling rural infrastructure,” senior party leader Daljit Singh Cheema said after the meeting.
He blamed both the previous Congress government and the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government for their “failure to create new infrastructure” in the state, for which he said, “Punjab has suffered immensely”.
“We are determined to restart a new era of development and creation of infrastructure to take Punjab forward,” he added.
Mr Cheema said the party would launch a people’s movement against what it called the “anti-Punjabi policy and decision” of the AAP government. “We will appeal to Punjabis to support their regional party SAD and pledge to address the concerns of law and order, social harmony and unemployment. We assure Punjabis that we will lead the state out of the current lawlessness, ensure peace and communal harmony and bring investment back to Punjab to create jobs for our youth,” he said.
It was decided in the meeting that the organizational structure of the party, including booth-level committees and various wings like Youth Akali Dal, Istri Akali Dal and Scheduled Castes, Backward Castes and Business Representatives wings, would be finalized by February 10.
Published – 24 Jan 2026 21:23 IST
