On the verge of being wiped out from Punjab after ruling the state for a decade, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) would go for a complete overhaul, sans any change in its leadership. Sukhbir Singh Badal would continue as the party president.

However, the party would take necessary follow up action for the implementation of the recommendations of the report submitted by the party’s Poll Performance Review Committee, popularly called Jhoonda Committee, which had been set up to go into the causes of the party’s performance in the February 2022 Vidhan Sabha elections. For the same, the party’s core panel has authorised the party chief after deliberating on the report for over five hours.

SAD’s Core Committee, which met on Wednesday under Sukhbir Badal’s chairmanship, endorsed, applauded and accepted the 13-member review panel report and thanked the members of the committee for their thorough painstaking and honest feedback from the party workers and the people at large.

After the meeting, the core group has given full powers to Sukhbir to reconstitute the party structure also in line with the panel’s about 42 recommendations.

“The poll review committee report highlights both the strengths and the weaknesses and the achievements and the shortcomings of the party in the past as well as the challenges and opportunities before it in the days to come,” said SAD’s secretary general Balwinder Singh Bhunder.

  ulted by the party leadership. He also gained support of some other party leaders, with some coming out in open, while others backed him silently.

Notably, SAD remained in power for a record 10 years — winning the two consecutive elections in 2007 and 2012. In its next election, SAD was routed with the Capt Amarinder Singh led Congress returning to power winning 77 out of 117 seats in 2017 elections. SAD could win just 15 seats, with its ally, BJP, securing just three.

In 2022, SAD’s seat share was reduced to just three, as the AAP swept the state assembly polls with 92 seats.