Political equations is apparently changing between the decade-old allies — Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) — ahead the crucial 2019 Lok Sabha elections, with Punjab’s regional party sounding notes of discord.
Accusing the saffron party of interfering in Sikh affairs, the SAD had “threatened to break alliance” with the BJP. In fact, to register its protest, the SAD leaders stayed away from the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) pre-budget meeting on Thursday, while its leader and Sri Anandpur Sahib MP Prof Prem Singh Chandumajra attended the all-party meeting on the same day.
SAD, who has all along been demanding a relief package for the farmers, had also expressed extreme displeasure for ignoring its demand.
To discuss the issue further, the SAD has convened a meeting of its core group on Sunday. “The party would discuss the issue of Hazoor Sahib Gurdwara Committee and the current political equations in the state during the core committee meeting on February 3,” a senior SAD leader told The Pioneer.
Akali Dal, one of the oldest partners in the BJP-led NDA, disapproved the Rashtriya Sewak Sangh’s alleged interference in the gurudwara affairs.
Political observers believed that the current development may lead to completely changed political equations in Punjab, maintaining that Padma award to the rebel SAD leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa was also a part of a larger strategy by the saffron brigade.
It is also believed that the SAD’s “threat” to break ties with BJP is also a under a scheme of things as the Akali Dal wanted to build pressure on the saffron party ahead polls, especially at a time when most of the opposition parties are coming together against the NDA forming a “maha-gathbandhan” to dislodge Modi government, and BJP did not want to lose any ally.
A political observer, in a know of things in Punjab, indicated that announcing Padma award to Dhindsa, on the day he sought Sukhbir’s resignation as SAD president, speaks volume about what BJP is up to in Punjab. “They know that SAD’s image is badly affected by sacrilege issue, which Congress would continue to rake up during elections too,” said the observer.
The observer maintained that BJP want a leader of Badal’s stature and Dhindsa can fill that space and that was why BJP is wooing him. Moreover, it has options to choose between various political parties that have come up.
“What I believe could be the possibility...the BJP would break alliance with the SAD and join hands with Khaira (Sukhpal Khaira’s Punjabi Ekta Party), Bains Brothers (Lok Insaaf Party) who have been in touch with the BJP since long, and SAD faction formed by traditional Akali leaders — SAD Taksali and Dhindsa in Punjab, leaving out the SAD,” said the observer.
Giving credence to this theory, the SAD’s “rebel” MP Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, who has also floated his own outfit SAD (Taksali), maintained that the relations between SAD-BJP will end soon as BJP is well aware about the Badal family’s declining graph came in Punjab.
Lashing out at the Badal family for ruining SAD, Khadoor Sahib MP said that because of Badals’ wrong deeds, the BJP-led Government has been facing massive calamity all over world.
“In such circumstances, which party will continue their alliance with the Badal family and it’s not out place to mention that the time would come when the Badal family will alone remain in SAD,” he said adding that Badal bahu Harsimrat would play a key role in breaking SAD-BJP alliance by resigning as Union Cabinet Minister to uphold sentiments of Sikh community by doing politics over religious issues which Badals always do.
But as far as talks regarding breaking ties are concerned, the SAD president Sukhbir Badal and his Union Minister wife Harsimrat Kaur Badal sent confusing signals on Thursday.
At the time when SAD MP Naresh Gujral, who coordinates with the BJP on alliance matters, was registering protest by skipping NDA meeting and accusing the BJP and its fountainhead of meddling in the affairs of Sikh community, the Badal duo was hosting BJP’s Union Ministers, including Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Smriti Irani, among others, on lunch at their New Delhi residence.
“Obviously, the alliance is so much intact. We are partners and would continue to be so. We skipped the NDA meeting just to register our protest, and would do so till we get an assurance,” a SAD leader said.
Gujral, a day before, had maintained that his party wanted to attend the meeting of the NDA leaders which was held to chalk out a strategy for the upcoming Budget session but chose to skip it over the issue of RSS’ “interference” in gurudrawas.
“We are extremely upset and hurt by what is happening in Hazur Sahib in Nanded. The RSS should not interfere in the religious issues related to the Sikhs,” said Gujral while adding that the party had also been demanding a package for the beleaguered farmers.