India, March 30 -- The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) parliamentary board on Saturday decided to hold organisational polls of the party from April 2, and in first phase, district and state delegates will be elected by April 6.

The decision - which is being seen as a clear defiance to the Akal Takht decree that had tasked a panel to carry out the party's recruitment drive and elect new office-bearers within six months - was taken under the leadership of SAD working president Balwinder Singh Bhundar.

The Akal Takht panel has already initiated the membership drive on March 18 in compliance with the December 2 'hukamnama', aimed at reorganising and reviving the SAD.

In its December 2 decree, the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhs, a...