Iqbal Singh Jhundan
ਇਕਬਾਲ ਸਿੰਘ ਝੂੰਦਾਂ
Akali politician and two-time former MLA. He headed the 2022 'Jhunda committee' on the Akali Dal's defeat and sat on the seven-member Akal Takht committee set up on 2 December 2024.
Iqbal Singh Jhundan, spelt Jhunda in some reports, is an Akali politician from Sangrur district and a two-time former MLA. He is a living public figure. The facts below are sourced and the judgments are attributed to those who make them.
The Tribune of April 2024 records that he was sarpanch of his village, Jhundan, from 1993 to 2003 and practised as an advocate in Chandigarh for a short time. It adds that he was once associated with Gurcharan Singh Tohra. He lost the Dhuri seat in 2002 as an Akali Dal (Mann) candidate under the Panthic Morcha, won it in 2007 as an independent, won Amargarh in 2012 on an Akali Dal ticket, and lost it in 2017 and 2022. He became a member of the Akali Dal's core committee, was Sangrur district president from 2019 to 2023, and was named by Sukhbir Singh Badal as the party's candidate for Sangrur in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
Key moments
- 2022: after the Akali Dal's defeat in the Assembly election, Sukhbir Badal set up a committee under Jhundan to give feedback on course correction. The rebel Akali leader Gurpartap Singh Wadala told the Tribune that its report recommended a change in the party's leadership, starting from the top, and that the party swept it under the carpet by saying that Sukhbir was not named in it. That is Wadala's account; the Tribune reports it as his claim.
- 2 December 2024: the Akal Takht formed a seven-member committee to oversee the Akali Dal's membership drive and the election of its office-bearers. Its members were SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami as chairman, the former SGPC president Kirpal Singh Badungar, Jhundan, Wadala, Manpreet Singh Ayali, Santa Singh Umaidpuri and Satwant Kaur.
- 2025: Dhami resigned as chairman of the committee and as SGPC president, and Badungar resigned from the panel. The five who remained, Jhundan among them, met and decided to seek directions from the Akal Takht Jathedar, Giani Raghbir Singh. Jhundan said they would tell the Akal Takht the names of those who had not cooperated with the committee. The rebels complained that the Akali leadership had not followed the Takht's instruction that only its committee should oversee the drive.
- 2026: Wikipedia reports that in July 2026 he formed a separate faction within Shiromani Akali Dal (Punar Surjit) and that on 13 August 2026 he joined Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De). No second source was found, so treat it as unconfirmed.
He is known for the 2022 review that bears his name and for his place on the Akal Takht committee that the Akali leadership and its rebels disagreed about.
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Sources
- Akalis place trust in Jhundan from CM Mann's home turf (14 Apr 2024), The Tribune. tribuneindia.com
- Jhunda panel had recommended change in Akali Dal leadership: Gurpartap Wadala, The Tribune. tribuneindia.com
- Maintain sanctity of committee formed by Takht: Akali rebels, The Tribune. tribuneindia.com
- After Dhami, Badungar quits Akal Takht panel to revive SAD, The Tribune. tribuneindia.com
- Iqbal Singh Jhundan (used for his date of birth and the 2026 move; no second source found), Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org