Race for SGPC chief's post heats up

CHANDIGARH: Who will be the next Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president?
This question has assumed significance as the race for the coveted office has gained momentum with the formal co-optation of 15 members into the House.
The Gurdwara Election Commission notified the formation of the new House on Friday and also intimated the Union home ministry.
Within a month, the Centre would be required to call the first meeting of the House for the election of the president and the executive.
Chief commissioner Justice (retd) J S Sekhon said no date had yet been fixed for the election to three constituencies, where polls had been countermanded due to the reported defiance of the deputy commissioners of Amritsar and Gurdaspur.
He said the decision about the election dates would be taken after assessing the Punjab and Haryana High Court order.
Meanwhile, there is already speculation in the Akali sections about the next president.
Though, as usual, the last-minute announcement by SAD president Parkash Singh Badal will set the matter to rest, indications are that former SGPC presidents Jagdev Singh Talwandi, Bibi Jagir Kaur and Kirpal Singh Badungar, would be among the front-runners.
All three of them were elected when Gurcharan Singh Tohra was ousted in 1999 following differences with Badal.
Talwandi was removed after one term because of his whimsical behaviour, Bibi Jagir Kaur had to be removed similarly after one term as she landed in an unsavoury controversy of engineering her daughter''s death.
That Badal would repose faith in Talwandi, who does not have age on his side and had been vociferously condemning Badal till the last Assembly elections, could be anybody''s guess.
Bibi Jagir Kaur, who presided over the special SGPC session on Thursday and sparked speculations about being the most-likely presidential candidate, has a murder case pending against her in the special court. Will Badal still opt for her?
Observers feel that the chances of Badungar being Badal''s pick are also evenly poised for he does not have very many favourites among the Akalis to support his candidature.
Amid speculations about the possible presidential candidates, former SGPC president Kabul Singh and former SGPC secretary Manjit Singh Calcutta are being considered dark horses in the Akali circles.
Sources said Badal went out of the way this time to persuade Kabul Singh, who was SGPC president for a short term during militancy, to contest the SGPC election and to ensure his victory Badal asked his party leader Jang Bahadur Singh in the same constituency not to scuttle is chances. Jang Bahadur has earlier defeated Kabul Singh as an Independent.
Calcutta, similarly, has been a surprise choice as an SAD candidate to be co-opted from West Bengal. It is indicated that he would play a crucial role in the new dispensation.