The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) will elect its next president tomorrow during the annual meeting at Teja Singh Samundri Hall in the Golden Temple complex.

The Shiromani Akali Dal is once again expected to rally behind the current president, Advocate Harjinder Singh Dhami.

However, the rival Akali Dal (Panthak Surjit group) is likely to field former SGPC chief Bibi Jagir Kaur, according to insiders familiar with the developments. A final announcement on her candidature may come by late tonight or early tomorrow morning.

Chief secretary Partap Singh said efforts are underway to choose the president unanimously. "If consensus is not reached, voting will take place as per procedure."

Dhami, who first took over the post in 2021, secured a comfortable win last year with 107 votes, defeating Jagir Kaur, who managed 33.

The SGPC has 185 members, including 170 elected and 15 nominated. Due to vacancies from deaths and resignations, around 148 members are expected to participate in tomorrow’s session.

The body holds two key sittings each year -- one for electing office-bearers and the other for passing the annual budget. The upcoming session will focus solely on choosing the next president.

Established in 1920 in Amritsar, the SGPC functions as the top elected organisation responsible for managing Sikh shrines in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh.

Born out of the Singh Sabha reform movement, the Committee was created to bring gurdwara management in line with Sikh religious principles and to end hereditary control by mahants. Its authority was later formalised under the Sikh Gurdwaras Act of 1925.