Manpreet Singh Iyali

Manpreet Singh Iyali (also spelled Ayali) is an Akali politician and the MLA for Dakha, in Ludhiana district. In June 2026 he joined Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De), the party formed by supporters of Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh, who is held in Dibrugarh jail in Assam.

In the Assembly. He first won Dakha for the Shiromani Akali Dal in 2012, when, The Tribune notes, the electoral wave was not in his party's favour. He lost the seat in 2017 to H S Phoolka of the Aam Aadmi Party, and won it back in the October 2019 by-election after Phoolka resigned, beating the Congress's Capt Sandeep Sandhu by 14,672 votes. He won again in 2022 and is one of the three SAD MLAs in the 117-member Assembly. He had earlier chaired the Ludhiana Zila Parishad.

The Akal Takht committee. On 2 December 2024 the Akal Takht punished Sukhbir Singh Badal and other Akali leaders for the mistakes of the Akali government of 2007 to 2017, and set up a seven-member committee to run a membership drive and hold party elections within six months. Iyali was a member, and stayed on when SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami and Kirpal Singh Badungar resigned from it. With Iqbal Singh Jhunda, Santa Singh Umaidpur, Gurpartap Singh Wadala and Satwant Kaur he began the drive at Amritsar on 18 March 2025, when Giani Harpreet Singh, the former Akal Takht Jathedar removed by the SGPC, performed the ardas and became its first member. Iyali later became convener of a Panthic unity coordination committee formed by Shiromani Akali Dal (Punar Surjit), the faction Giani Harpreet Singh leads, and Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De).

Key moments

• 2012: first elected MLA for Dakha.
• 2 December 2024: named to the Akal Takht committee.
• 20 May 2026: resigns from all posts in SAD (Punar Surjit).
• 9 June 2026: joins Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De).

Leaving Punar Surjit. On 20 May 2026 he resigned from all his posts in SAD (Punar Surjit). The Tribune reported that party sources said the alliance with Waris Punjab De could not be finalised because of ideological differences. Iyali said the committee's job had ended with the recruitment drive, and he objected to the appointment of leaders who, under the Jathedar's directions, were meant to be kept from party posts. Sources said he was also unhappy that some leaders were "cozying up" with the BJP. In a video message he said he would not join the Congress, the BJP or AAP.

Joining Waris Punjab De. On 9 June 2026 he joined the party in the presence of Amritpal Singh's father Tarsem Singh and Faridkot MP Sarabjit Singh Khalsa. He named the release of the Bandi Singhs, unemployment and law and order as his concerns, ruled out any tie-up with the BJP before the 2027 Assembly elections, and said he would keep working for unity among Panthic groups. Sarabjit Singh Khalsa said his "experience and clean public image" would strengthen the party. Iyali has said that Amritpal Singh has been kept from his constituency for three years in a "fake" case. Asia Samachar saw his exit from Punar Surjit as a sign of deepening fragmentation of the anti-Badal Sikh vote.