Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has intensified preparations for the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections. PM Modi himself addressed a rally in Jalandhar on July 17. In this rally he targeted all the political parties. Till now Shiromani Akali Dal was not the target of BJP leaders but this time PM Modi did not spare even Akali Dal. Taking aim at Akali Dal, PM Modi even called the party selfish. After this, discussion started on the speculations regarding the alliance of both the parties in the state.

Akali Dal and BJP remained in alliance together for a long time. Akali Dal was the oldest ally of BJP and it was said that there was a flesh-and-blood relationship between the two parties. However, this relationship broke down in 2020 due to the farmer laws and both the parties separated from each other. After this, both are contesting elections separately and both the parties are suffering losses due to this.

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What did PM Modi say?

PM Modi was attacking the Congress party in his speech. He was saying that there is a game of chair going on in the Congress party and selfish leaders are keeping an eye on the chair. Meanwhile, the PM also targeted Shiromani Akali Dal and said, ‘Same is the condition of Akali Dal, they too are entangled in their own interests. They too do not care about the people of Punjab. Only BJP can bring real change in Punjab.

Akali Dal wants alliance

Shiromani Akali Dal wants to form an alliance with Bharatiya Janata Party but this time BJP does not seem ready for it. At least this seems to be the case from public statements. However, there are many games going on behind the scenes in politics and it is said that talks are going on between the two parties. Akali Dal wants an alliance with BJP, but now BJP would like to start this alliance on its own terms, which was broken after the farmers’ laws, and this is not acceptable to the Akali Dal. Akali Dal leaders do not attack BJP. Even on PM’s statement, Sukhbir Badal said that the Prime Minister did not say anything about Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal). His reference was towards another Akali Dal (Purnsurjit). It is clear from his statement that he still has hope for an alliance.

Two opinions in BJP

There are two opinions in the Bharatiya Janata Party regarding the alliance with the Akali Dal. On one side are those leaders who are saying that the party is weak and cannot go into the electoral fray without an alliance. Therefore, the party should form an alliance so that it can be in a position to form the government in Punjab. Along with this, a part of BJP leaders are supporting that the party should contest the elections alone. Regarding this, the high command has made it clear that BJP will contest the elections alone and the leaders who were talking about contesting the elections in alliance have also been made to understand. The party is talking about contesting elections on all 117 seats.

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Why doesn’t BJP want alliance?

There are many reasons behind Bharatiya Janata Party not wanting an alliance with Akali Dal. The first reason is that BJP wants to expand in Punjab but Akali Dal wants to remain in the role of elder brother. BJP gets very few seats in the alliance to contest elections. In such a situation, the party will never be able to expand in Punjab. Akali Dal has limited the party to a few urban Hindu dominated seats. Therefore, BJP now wants to expand by entering the fray alone without Akali Dal.

The second biggest reason for not having an alliance is the internal discord of the Akali Dal. After the crushing defeat in the 2017 elections, the Akali Dal has become increasingly weak. Sukhbir Badal remains on the chair of the President but many big leaders have said goodbye to the party in protest against him. Along with this, many leaders also formed a separate party and joined many other parties. At present, Akali Dal itself is trying to regain its old vote bank. The crushing defeat in the 2022 elections shows the condition of the party. BJP leaders feel that the Akali Dal itself is weak and even if both contest the elections together, they will not be in a position to form the government. In such a situation, the party is planning to contest elections alone on all the seats.