Shiromani Akali Dal's local leaders look for better opportunity after resigning from party

AMRITSAR: Political situation within the Shiromani Akali Dal's (SAD) Amritsar unit remains shrouded in uncertainty following the resignations of Gurpartap Singh Tikka, the district president and Gursharan Singh Chhina, the Youth Akali Dal (YAD) district chief.
Tikka said he had dedicated nearly three decades of his life to the party with much patience , but when he felt that his contributions had not been duly acknowledged, and when his patience reached its limit, he found himself with no alternative but to tender his resignation.
In the year 2012, the party had denied him the assembly ticket following which he chose to run as an independent candidate. He lost the election and was suspended from the party. However, he was subsequently reinstated during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. In 2017, the party nominated him as candidate from Amritsar South assembly constituency, but he was unable to secure the win.
Both Tikka and Chhina had tendered their resignations on Monday.
Political observer, S Parshotam, opined that the prospects of both Tikka and Chinna returning to the SAD appeared to be slim since both of them had dedicated a substantial portion of their lives working for the party without receiving significant rewards or desired recognition in return.
He said that Tikka's close relation with the BJP leadership was not hidden and in past, the BJP had extended an offer to him to join their ranks. In contrast, when it came to Chhina, he said that Chhina had a close association with former SAD MLA Amarpal Singh Bony, who had subsequently left the party to join the BJP.
"Chhina is considered close to Bony, who may be inclined to encourage his shift to the BJP. However, Chhina also has significant connections within the senior leadership of the Aam Aadmi Party, making it challenging to predict his allegiance," he said.
When contacted, Chhina candidly expressed his feelings of being neglected by the party and his resulting resentment due to which he had resigned . In reply to a question about his forthcoming plans, he chose to keep his cards close to chest. Nevertheless, he said that he was holding a meeting with his close associates, family members, and well-wishers, and indicated that it might take approximately a week's time before arriving at any definitive decision.