Themes

Elections

Votes, governments and boycotts in Punjab and the SGPC.

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  1. May 25, 1909Morley-Minto Reforms and the SikhsThe Indian Councils Act of 1909 enlarged the councils and gave Muslims separate electorates, while Sikh leaders had to press for a voice through memoranda and nominations.
  2. Dec 1916Lucknow Pact and the SikhsCongress and the Muslim League agreed in December 1916 on separate electorates and seat shares, giving Muslims half the communal seats in Punjab, with no Sikh party to the deal.
  3. Aug 20, 1917 and 1919Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms: separate seats for SikhsMontagu's declaration of 20 August 1917 led to the Government of India Act 1919, dyarchy in the provinces and separate Sikh electorates in Punjab, short of what Sikh leaders had asked.
  4. Aug 16, 1932Communal Award of 1932Britain fixed legislative seats by religion. In Punjab Muslims got 51.4 per cent and Sikhs 18.9 against a demand of 30. Sikh leaders called it a repudiation of promises.
  5. Aug 2, 1935Government of India Act 1935 brings provincial autonomyBritain's last big constitution for India gave provinces elected governments and wrote in separate electorates. In Punjab, 31 Sikh seats of 175, and a Unionist government after the 1937 vote.
  6. May 16, 1946Cabinet Mission Plan places Punjab in a Muslim-majority groupBritain's last plan for a united India grouped Punjab with Sind and the Frontier, giving Sikhs 4 of 28 Punjab seats. Sikhs rejected it, and its collapse led to the partition of Punjab.
  7. Jan 1956Kairon becomes Punjab CMCongress-Jat Sikh opposition to Punjabi Suba
  8. Jan 1965SGPC electionsFateh Singh's 90-45 victory conclusive
  9. 1967-68Coalition instabilityAkali governance structural difficulty
  10. Mar 1967Gurnam Singh becomes CMFirst Akali-led government of the new state
  11. Feb 1969Gurnam Singh second termSecond failed Akali coalition
  12. Mar 1970Parkash Singh Badal first CMBeginning of Badal era
  13. Jul 9, 1975Akali Save Democracy MorchaAbout 40,000 court arrest by January 1977
  14. Mar 1977Emergency ends; post-Emergency electionsAkali-Janata victory
  15. Jun 1977Parkash Singh Badal second CM termParkash Singh Badal became Chief Minister for the second time (his first term was 1970 to 1971), heading an Akali-Janata coalition sworn in on 20 June 1977; it fell in 1980.
  16. 1987-1993Peak Kharku periodAll major Kharku organizations operational
  17. Jun 21, 1991Punjab polls postponed a day before voting24 to 29 candidates killed in the campaign
  18. Nov 1991Disturbed Areas Act; three lakh security personnelFeb 1992 poll held; barely a fifth to a quarter vote
  19. Feb 19, 1992Punjab Assembly election of 1992: a boycott, a 22 percent turnout and a Congress governmentUnder a boycott call and three lakh security personnel, Punjab voted on 19 Feb 1992; turnout was about a fifth to a quarter and Congress won 87 seats.
  20. 1996Moga DeclarationAkali Dal redefined from Panthic to Punjabi
  21. May 1996Kanshi Ram wins Hoshiarpur in the 1996 Lok Sabha electionThe BSP founder, born near Ropar in a Chamar family of Sikh background, won the Scheduled Caste seat of Hoshiarpur in May 1996.
  22. 1997SAD-BJP alliance; Badal becomes CMPanthic party allied to Hindutva
  23. 2007, 2012Second and third Badal governmentsPeak institutional capture of SGPC
  24. Apr 22, 2014Cobrapost sting records Delhi Police officers on November 1984On 22 Apr 2014 the news portal Cobrapost released "Chapter 84", filmed conversations with retired Delhi Police officers who said police failed Sikhs during the November 1984 violence.
  25. Jun 2024Amritpal Singh wins Khadoor Sahib from jailSworn in on a four-day release; the Lok Sabha later granted 54 days' leave, but the High Court refused his plea to attend
  26. Jun 4, 2024Hoshiarpur elects AAP's Raj Kumar Chabbewal to the Lok SabhaAAP won the reserved Hoshiarpur seat by 44,111 votes; a Tamil-born Sikh convert standing for the Bahujan Dravida Party, as a tribute to Kanshi Ram's 1996 win here, polled 4,621.
  27. Jul 5-7, 2024Amritpal Singh disowns his mother's remark on KhalistanDays after his Lok Sabha oath, jailed MP Amritpal Singh publicly rejected his mother's remark that he is not a Khalistani supporter, saying he would put the Panth before family.
  28. Feb 14, 2025Fake letter in Amritpal's name claims a Sikh-BJP allianceA letter saying jailed MP Amritpal Singh had proposed a Sikh-BJP partnership went viral in February 2025. His family called it forged and said they would go to the Cyber Police.
  29. Apr 18, 2025Punjab extends Amritpal Singh's NSA detention by a yearPunjab extended the National Security Act detention of Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh by a year in April 2025, though his nine co-accused had been brought home when their detention ended.
  30. Nov 14, 2025Tarn Taran by-election: AAP holds the seat as the Panthic vote splitsAAP's Harmeet Singh Sandhu kept Tarn Taran with 42,649 votes. The Akali Dal was second and a Waris Punjab De-backed candidate third, in a seat inside Amritpal Singh's Khadoor Sahib constituency.
  31. Apr 14, 2026Waris Punjab De pitches jailed MP Amritpal Singh as chief minister for 2027At its Baisakhi conference at Talwandi Sabo, the party makes the case for Amritpal Singh, held in Dibrugarh jail, as chief minister in 2027.
  32. Apr 24, 2026Seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs merge with the BJPRaghav Chadha and six other Aam Aadmi Party members of the Rajya Sabha, six of them from Punjab, announce a merger with the BJP; the Chairman accepts it on 27 April.
  33. Apr 18-May 20, 2026Panthic Ekta alliance of Waris Punjab De and SAD (Punar Surjit) breaks apartAn alliance formed on 18 April 2026 to unite Panthic parties outside Sukhbir Badal's SAD unravels within weeks, and its convener Manpreet Ayali quits and joins Amritpal Singh's party.
  34. May 29, 2026AAP wins Punjab's civic polls while SAD and BJP trailResults of the 26 May urban local body elections give AAP 958 of 1,977 wards, Congress 397, SAD 192 and BJP 172, the first statewide test after the defection of six AAP MPs.
  35. Jun 15, 2026Akal Takht declares CM Mann Guru Dokhi and anti-Khalsa PanthOn 15 June 2026 the five Singh Sahiban declared Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann Guru Dokhi and Khalsa Panth Virodhi over a video and the sacrilege law; Mann denies the video is his.
  36. Feb 2027 (expected)Punjab Vidhan Sabha election 2027The election for all 117 seats, expected in February 2027, is the first statewide test of the AAP government, with the opposition and the Panthic vote split.

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