Kapurthala, Nov 15: Former Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Bibi Jagir Kaur formally rejoined the Shiromani Akali Dal on Sunday, marking her second homecoming to the party within a span of just over two years.
SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal inducted the 72-year-old former Punjab cabinet minister back into the party fold during a gathering at Begowal, her hometown in Kapurthala district. Kaur stepped away from the SAD (Punar Surjit) to align once again with the Badal-led faction, a development that comes just days after former Member of Parliament Prem Singh Chandumajra also returned to the party.
A three-time SGPC president who held the top religious body’s post in 1999, 2004, and 2020, Kaur has had a shifting political trajectory with the party in recent years. She was initially expelled from the SAD in November 2022 after refusing to back down from contesting the SGPC presidential election, a race she ultimately lost to official party nominee Harjinder Dhami.
She previously returned to the SAD in March 2024, when Badal had similarly welcomed her back. However, she subsequently parted ways with the leadership alongside several other leaders to form the SAD Sudhar Lehar.
On the electoral front, Kaur has represented the Bholath Assembly constituency in Kapurthala district three times as a SAD legislator, securing victories in 1997, 2002, and 2012. In the 2022 Assembly polls, she contested from Bholath unsuccessfully, losing the seat to Congress candidate Sukhpal Khaira.
