Chandigarh: Talk of a BJP-Akali Dal reunion gathered pace again on Friday. Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal said his party was open to an alliance with parties that agree with its ideology and programmes, but ruled out any understanding with the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party, calling them Punjab's two biggest enemies.
Badal spoke after an SAD delegation met Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria over the killing of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa and sought Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's dismissal. The delegation also demanded a Class-I government job for Jhota's wife, Manpreet Kaur, and Rs 2 crore compensation on humanitarian grounds. Badal clarified that these demands had not come from Jhota's family or the joint action committee in Mansa.
Accusing the ruling AAP government of failing on law and order, Badal said peace prevailed in Punjab during SAD-BJP rule and the state developed in areas such as infrastructure and industry. Union Home Minister Amit Shah said in Delhi on Thursday that an NDA government would be formed in Punjab in 2027 and that the AAP would be wiped out. Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon, however, denied that any alliance decision had been taken, saying the party was preparing to contest all 117 seats. A senior party functionary said the political signal was clear even though Shah did not name the Akali Dal.
The two parties ended a 24-year alliance in September 2020 over the now-withdrawn farm laws. In the 2022 Assembly election, the BJP won two seats and the SAD three. Neither party has announced a formal agreement, and the state goes to the polls early next year.