The alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its oldest ally Shiromani Akali Dal was broken over agricultural laws. After contesting elections together for nearly 25 years, both the parties are contesting elections separately in Punjab since 2020. Be it the 2022 Assembly elections or the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, many big leaders of both the parties advocate an alliance, but every time the matter gets stuck and the result comes out in the form of defeat for both the parties. There is still time for the 2027 assembly elections but many leaders of both the parties are restless about the alliance. Many leaders on both sides want an alliance so that an alternative to Congress and Aam Aadmi Party can be created in the elections.
Former Chief Minister of Punjab and senior BJP leader Captain Amarinder Singh talked about an alliance with BJP and Akali Dal in Punjab. He told in an interview that BJP is not in a position to form government in Punjab without Akali Dal. It will take 2-3 elections for BJP to form the government on its own. He said, ‘There is no other way to form the government without an alliance with the Akali Dal.’ He believes that Akali Dal provides grassroots network to BJP which can ensure the party’s victory. Apart from Captain Amarinder, many BJP leaders want an alliance with Akali Dal.
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Congress formed the government in Punjab in 2017 by uprooting the Akali Dal. Since then, Akali Dal and BJP have not been able to achieve success in even a single election. Now when the discussion has started regarding the alliance of Akali Dal and BJP for the 2027 elections, a statement also came from the Congress. Punjab Congress President and MP Raja Waring himself took charge. On Captain Amarinder Singh’s statement, he said that he is right, BJP alone has no future in Punjab.
Regarding the BJP-Akali alliance, he said,‘Both BJP and Akali are already finished from Punjab. There is no scope for them to rise again. Even if Akali and BJP form an alliance, it will not make any difference. Zero plus zero is always zero. However, it must be acknowledged that Captain Saheb has become sensible and has shown a mirror to his party.‘ Raja Waring accused BJP of being anti-Punjab.
The reason behind the statement given by Punjab Congress President is the performance of BJP and Akali Dal in the last assembly elections. After separating from the alliance in 2020, BJP and Akali Dal contested the elections separately and both suffered a crushing defeat. BJP was reduced to 2 seats and Akali Dal was reduced to 3 seats. BJP fielded candidates on all seats but the vote percentage was 6.6 percent, which was slightly more than the 5.4 percent votes it got in the 2017 assembly elections.
Akali Dal also got only 18.38 percent votes, which was 7 percent less than in 2017. Big leaders of Akali Dal and members of the Badal family as well as close associates lost the elections. Many big leaders of the party have left the party. This is the reason why Congress is terming Akali and BJP as zero.
Akali and BJP need each other in Punjab politics. Akali Dal has also indicated an alliance with BJP. In the last Lok Sabha elections also, there was talk about an alliance between the two parties. However, due to some reasons, there was no alliance between the two and despite all the efforts, BJP could not win even a single seat. Former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s wife lost the election in her stronghold Amritsar itself. Even old Congressmen like Ravneet Singh Bittu could not taste success for BJP in the electoral field. Only Harsimrat Kaur Badal, a member of the Badal family and wife of Sukhbir Badal, could win the election from Akali Dal. Harsimrat Kaur Badal has put some conditions before BJP regarding the alliance.
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Commenting on Captain Amarinder Singh’s statement, MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal said that senior leaders of Punjab know the weakness of Punjab BJP. He said,‘BJP alone will not be able to win the elections even in 2032. If there is an alliance with Akali Dal then the shops of many BJP leaders will be closed. That’s why they are against the BJP-Akali alliance. Are।‘
Senior leaders of Punjab BJP, Captain Amarinder Singh and Sunil Jakhar, who have resigned from the post of chief, are in favor of forming an alliance with the Akali Dal. Before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Sunil Jakhar had given a statement that if there is a BJP-Akali Dal alliance, then the expectations of the people can be fulfilled. However, despite all their efforts, BJP-Akali Dal fought the elections separately.
Captain Amarinder Singh and Sunil Jakhade are old Congress leaders. Despite their efforts, the BJP high command did not give the green signal to the alliance. Now the working head of Punjab BJP has distanced himself from Captain Amarinder’s statement and termed it as his personal opinion. BJP working president Ashwani Sharma said that the party will contest elections on all 117 seats. It is clear from this that there is a faction within BJP which does not want an alliance with Akali Dal. However, political experts say that there are possibilities of BJP and Akali coming together before the 2027 elections.
