Setback for SAD-BJP Alliance Talks in Punjab as BJP Rejects Seat Offer

Efforts to revive the alliance between the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Punjab faced a setback as the BJP refused to be a junior ally to the SAD. Sources indicate that key reasons behind the failure of talks include SAD’s preconditions and an insufficient share of seats offered to the BJP.

SAD reportedly offered four out of 13 Lok Sabha seats to the BJP, a proposal met with resistance. BJP’s national leadership pointed to the 2019 Lok Sabha election results, where the BJP contested three seats, winning two, while the SAD contested ten seats and secured only two victories. The BJP argued that based on these statistics, they deserve a more substantial share of seats.

SAD’s conditions, including the release of Sikh prisoners, were rejected by the BJP, which insisted there could be no preconditions for the alliance. Some within the Punjab BJP core committee had already expressed opposition to the idea of aligning with the SAD in a meeting last week.

The SAD-BJP alliance, in place since the mid-1990s, faced a rupture during the farmers’ movement, leading both parties to contest the 2022 assembly elections separately, resulting in a significant defeat. SAD President Sukhbir Badal remains non-committal on a pre-poll alliance with the BJP for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.