Chandigarh: The Shiromani Akali Dal’s (SAD) manifesto committee for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections held its first meeting under the leadership of senior party functionary Balwinder Singh Bhunder here on Friday, with the party saying it would frame its poll promises after consulting different sections of society.Speaking to the media after the meeting, SAD spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema, a member of the 20-member committee, said, “We will prepare our manifesto according to the views of the people of Punjab.”“Unlike other parties, which say whatever comes to their minds just to get votes and later claim that the treasury is empty, the SAD will prepare a manifesto that the party can actually fulfil,” Cheema said.He said the consultation process had been divided into two stages. In the first, the committee would seek inputs from office-bearers and active members of the party’s various wings, including the SC, BC, NRI, minority, youth and legal wings, besides the Students Organisation of India (SOI).“We will ask them about the problems concerning their respective communities, the solutions they want and their expectations from the next govt. For this purpose, we have scheduled a meeting on Sept 25,” Cheema said.He said SC wing president Gulzar Singh Ranike would present the concerns of the Scheduled Caste community and its expectations from the next govt at the Sept 25 meeting. This would be followed by BC wing president Hira Singh Gabria, who would lead a delegation of the Backward Classes to highlight their issues and concerns.Cheema said after completing the initial consultation, the manifesto committee would reach out to experts in education, health and economics. “Similarly, we will seek the views of farmers’ organisations as well,” he said.The committee would then fan out across the state to seek public opinion, including in the Kandi region, border areas and cities, Cheema said.
