For the Shiromani Akali Dal, the party that governed Punjab for a record 10 years from 2007, before finishing last at the hustings in 2017 with a mere 15 seats, it’s a high-stakes election that offers it a window for revival. But what would have probably been easy in a bipolar environment 10 years ago, is now proving to be a challenge in a crowded field with five players. The oldest regional party of the country that celebrated its 100 years in 2020, the SAD - without its long-term partner BJP, its bridge to the urban, Hindu votes - is up against voters clamouring for change from traditional parties. On the face of it, the upbeat Aam Aadmi Party and the ruling Congress seem to have relegated Akalis to the third place but party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal begs to differ. “We are forming the government,” he claims at one rally after the other even though many on the ground refute his claim. In his defence, Sukhbir cites the party’s strong cadre and rising vote share — it went up from 31 per cent in 2017 to 37 per cent in the 2019 LS polls — and its performance in the civic elections, in which it fared much better than AAP that won 69 seats wards against its 289. SAD, however, was miles behind the ruling Congress, which won 1,432 seats. The party, which is banking on the twin planks of panth and Punjabiyat —Sukhbir claims it has fielded a large number of Hindus — also hopes to benefit from the alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party, which is contesting on 20 seats. In 1996, their partnership had won 11 of the 13 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. That it may have some traction is evident at Talhan village in Jalandhar, where sarpanch Balwinder Jit, a Dalit, is unmoved by CM Charanjit Singh Channi’s appeal as the CM face even though many in the village disagree with him. “It’s our duty to vote for the Akali-BSP combine,” he says. The party, which split in 2018 when veteran leaders questioned the concentration of powers in the hands of the Badals and formed the SAD (Sanyukt) under Rajya Sabha MP S S Dhindsa, got a shot in the arm on December 23 when former MP Ranjit S Bramhpura rejoined the Akali Dal. The veteran, who is now contesting from Khadoor Sahib in Majha, says he was heeding Akal Takht Jathedar’s call to all panthic forces to rally behind the SAD. Earlier this month, former CM Beant Singh’s assassin Balwant Singh Rajoana, on parole for a few hours to attend his father’s last prayers, called upon the congregation to vote for the SAD, calling it a symbol of inter-faith harmony. Last week, the sant samaj gave it their support. Though the case against SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia in December could have hurt the party, it has tried to turn it to its advantage by calling it “political vendetta” and getting relief from the apex court. In a show of outrage, Majithia also left his seat to contest from Amritsar East against PPCC chief Navjot Sidhu, who had been openly accusing him of dealing in drugs. Later, Sukhbir Badal said he would quit politics if the Congress produced any proof of drug trafficking against Majithia. With the Congress government making no headway in the sacrilege case and with no letup in the supply of drugs, the anger on the two issues that led to the downfall of the SAD has now been directed at the Congress as well. Ashutosh Kumar, a political scientist at Panjab University, says the spotlight on a feuding Congress facing charges of corruption will work in favour of Akali Dal, which does not face any issues of leadership and has been quietly campaigning on the ground. “Akalis will play a crucial role in case of a hung assembly. BJP and Akalis have been aligning since the early 1960s. If there is a fractured verdict, they will come together.”
