FREMONT, California, USA—The current committee of Gurdwara Sahib Fremont has come out victorious in the elections that were contested yesterday. All five candidates of the Sikh Panchayat were declared victorious with big margins over the Bay Area Sikh Alliance Organization (BASAO). The victory means Sikh Panchayat will remain in charge of the Gurdwara Sahib management for the next two years.
The manifesto of Sikh Panchayat included various important items:
1) Improving Khalsa School and langar kitchen facilities.
2) Resolve long pending matter regarding 100 acres of hilly land.
3) Auditing of Gurdwara Sahib statements every two years.
4) Establish a facility for senior members of the committee.
5) Empowerment of Sikh women in the community.
The Bay Area Sikh Alliance Organization was criticized by many in the local Sikh community for indulging in unnecessary politics. Candidates of the slate had no answer as to why many of them they have remained distanced from the gurdwara in the past, as most of them are not active members of the Fremont Gurdwara Sahib.
The vote count is as follows:
Sikh Panchayat
2160 – Tarsem Singh
2138 – Gurinder Singh
2137 – Lakhvir Singh
2125 – Jasdev Singh
2107 – Harjit Singh
Bay Area Sikh Alliance Organization
1649 – Avtar S. Dhami
1620 – Gurcharn S. Mann
1572 – Ranbir Kaur
1536 – Harcharan Singh
1532 – Jaswant Singh
Bay Area Sikh Alliance
49 – Balraj Singh
37 – Rajinder Kaur
29 – Surinder Singh
20 – Fatehjit Singh
Independent
36 – Jugraj Singh
Note: Bay Area Sikh Alliance candidates were originally fielded by BASAO as they lacked amritdharis in their slate. The same group later decided to field different candidates asking original members to withdraw.
