PM-Badal meet fuels reunion buzz
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, igniting speculation about the possibility of the Punjab-based party joining hands with the BJP again ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections next year. The SAD left the NDA six years ago over the farm laws issue.
Badal met the Prime Minister at his office in the Parliament House complex, sources aware of the meeting said. The details of the meeting were not known immediately but the interaction ignited speculations that the SAD may join hands again with the BJP.
The SAD was one of the oldest constituents of the NDA with more than 20 years of association when it left the alliance in 2020 over the three agriculture laws, which were later withdrawn by the Modi Government. Badal’s wife and Lok Sabha MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal was also part of the Modi Government as a minister with Cabinet rank.
The nearly two-and-a-half-decade-old alliance between the BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal collapsed in 2020 amid the controversy over the three contentious farm laws. At the time, the Akali Dal announced its decision to withdraw from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Since then, both parties contested the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections independently. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP failed to win any seats in the state, while the Akali Dal managed to secure only one.
Despite the split, periodic meetings between senior leaders of the two parties have kept speculation alive about a possible revival of the alliance. Friday’s meeting is also being closely watched for any political signals regarding the future relationship between the BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal.
Sources said the Akali Dal, the State BJP unit, and the RSS are all in favour of reviving the alliance. Leaders who have joined the BJP from the Congress also favour the restoration of the alliance, and the final call rests with the BJP’s central leadership, sources added.
Interestingly, Home Minister Amit Shah during his visit to Moga in March this year had categorically ruled out alliance with Akali Dal.
Analysts believe that both parties will benefit from the alliance as the BJP has a presence in the state’s urban areas, while the Akali Dal is influential in rural Punjab.
During a recent visit to Punjab, BJP president Nitin Nabin had stated that a decision regarding the alliance would be taken at an appropriate time.
Sources said the BJP wants the renewal of the alliance on equal footing now. Previously, the BJP played the role of junior partner in the alliance, and the Akali Dal always had the upper hand.
However, according to Akali leaders, details such as seat-sharing can be discussed later and the immediate priority is to improve the situation in Punjab. They believe the security situation in border-state Punjab is precarious and could pose a challenge to national security, sources said.
For months, BJP leaders have maintained that the party would contest the 2027 Assembly elections independently. BJP leaders had repeatedly asserted that the party was preparing to fight the elections on its own in Punjab.
However, Sukhbir Singh Badal’s meeting with Prime Minister Modi has once again fueled speculation that the two former allies could explore the possibility of reviving their alliance before the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections.
