The largely rural Banga Assembly constituency in Punjab’s Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar district, reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC), has once again become a mirror of the state’s shifting political loyalties. At the heart of this churn is Dr Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi, a two-time Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLA who is now a prominent face of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab’s Doab region.
A doctor-turned-politician whose political roots go back to the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) movement under Kanshi Ram, Sukhi’s journey — from BSP to SAD and now AAP — reflects the broader realignments underway in Punjab politics, particularly in Doaba.
The latest twist came after Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann stated that 169 saroops (physical copies of the Guru Granth Sahib) were found at the Rasokhana Nabh Kanwal Raja Sahib Gurdwara in Banga during an inquiry into the alleged disappearance of 328 saroops. Soon after, Sukhi announced his resignation as the chairman of the Punjab State Container and Warehousing Corporation (CONWARE).
Sukhi, who was appointed chairman with Cabinet rank on February 5, 2025, wrote on Facebook that he was resigning as he was “deeply hurt” by the controversy. He said he had been closely associated with the religious place for a long time and asserted that no disrespect to any saroop of Shri Guru Granth Sahib had ever taken place there. He also called for a fact-based resolution and urged political parties not to politicise matters of faith.
Born on December 6, 1960, in Gunachaur village of Nawanshahr district, Sukhi is an ENT specialist and got his medical degree from the DMC Ludhiana and runs his own hospital in Nawanshahr. He has been politically active since his student days. During the Kanshi Ram era, he was associated with BSP and served as general secretary of its student wing.
