Chandigarh, July 5 -- The Shiromani Akali Dal (Punar Surjit), breakaway faction of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Saturday launched its Chandigarh unit, signalling its electoral ambitions by announcing that it will contest the municipal corporation elections due later this year and the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat in the 2029 general elections. Addressing a press conference here, party general secretary and Chandigarh observer Gurjeet Singh Talwandi said Chandigarh is an integral part of Punjab, both geographically and socially, and accused the Sukhbir Singh Badal-led SAD of neglecting the city and its party workers. Talwandi alleged that the Badal faction's policies had demoralised Akali cadre, forcing many workers either to remain inactive or join other political parties. He said under the leadership of party president Giani Harpreet Singh and in line with the December 2, 2024, "hukamnama" issued by the Akal Takht, the party had succeeded in bringing various Akali factions onto a common platform. He said zonal in-charges had already been appointed and would begin strengthening the organisation at the grassroots level, adding that the Chandigarh unit's complete organisational structure would be announced within a month. The party, formed in August 2025 following a split in the Shiromani Akali Dal, reiterated its claim of representing a reformist Panthic alternative committed to restoring traditional Akali values. Unveiling its Chandigarh agenda, party said it would focus on long-pending civic, governance and development issues. For residents of villages on the city's periphery, it demanded a land pooling policy offering landowners option of land acquisition or market-value compensation on lines of Gujarat model, besides developing these villages as model settlements.htc...