After big wins, BJP unlikely to play second fiddle in any re-alliance with Akalis

A senior SAD leader who did not wish to be named admitted that the latest Assembly poll results have left the tattered Akalis at a political crossroads.

The SAD, which had been the senior partner and called the shots in the two-decade-old alliance with the BJP, had contested 94 Assembly seats in 2017, leaving 23 to the BJP as part of a seat-sharing agreement. In case of the Lok Sabha polls, the senior partner in 2019 contested 10 seats while the junior partner got 3.

Analysts and leaders of both the parties admit that the seat-sharing arrangement will have to drastically change if the former allies decide to reunite. A senior SAD leader said that one of the proposed seat-sharing formulas – 8 seats for BJP and 5 for the SAD – for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections is expected to hit the Sukhbir Singh Badal-led party hard.

“The Assembly results have definitely put the Punjab BJP in a win-win situation. However, it is important to note that the political landscape of Punjab is very different from that in the Hindi heartland. The BJP will have to keep in mind that Punjab is a Sikh majority state and the SAD represents the community,” senior Akali leader and two-time Nakodar MLA Gurpartap Singh Wadala told The Indian Express.

On the other hand, the BJP camp has different voices with regard to rekindling their friendship with the Akalis. Veteran BJP leader Manoranjan Kalia told The Indian Express that the writing on the wall is clear and a Narendra Modi-led government will be formed for the third time in 2024. “We are prepared to contest all 13 seats on our own. A final decision on the alliance (with the SAD) will be taken by the party high command,” he said.

A senior BJP leader claimed that the party, which is riding high on the three big wins, would not “bother” about forging an alliance with the SAD in Punjab as the state has only 13 Lok Sabha seats.

However, another senior Punjab BJP leader said that despite repeated denials by the top brass, including by Union minister Hardeep Puri, talks between the two former allies never died down. “The BJP-SAD alliance was time-tested and stood for peace and communal harmony. Seat-sharing will be the only criterion that the rekindling will hinge on,” he said.