Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, former Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) chief Jagir Kaur rejoined the Shiromani Akali Dal on Thursday, more than a year after she was expelled for alleged anti-party activities. The development came days after Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa merged his Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt) with the Sukhbir Singh Badal-led Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). Badal and other senior leaders including Daljit Singh Cheema, Adesh Partap Singh Kairon, Sharanjit Singh Dhillon and Surjit Singh Rakhra visited Begowal in Kapurthala district to reinduct Kaur into the party. After Badal welcomed her into the party fold, she said that she was an Akali by birth. "I was an Akali and will remain an Akali. Always." She also asserted that she would continue to work in the religious sphere and do her best to strengthen the SGPC. Badal said, "My relations with Bibi ji have always been that of a family member". He said he had earlier also invited her to rejoin the party with folded hands and he was thankful to her for acceding to his request. The SAD chief also urged all Akalis who became estranged to return. "Only when we are united, can we thwart the attempts being made to weaken the SGPC and Sikh institutions," he said. Kaur, a former minister, was the president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) in 1999, 2004 and 2020.

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