Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, sparking speculation that the former allies could join hands again for the Punjab Assembly elections due early next year.
Akali Dal had cut ties with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) six years ago, citing differences over the three farm laws, which now stand repealed.
Badal met PM Modi at his office in the Parliament House complex on Friday, according to news agency PTI.
While political circles were abuzz with talks of a tie-up, Punjab BJP chief Kewal Singh Dhillon sought to downplay the meeting.
“Any senior leader can meet the PM. Sukhbir Singh Badal was the deputy CM. I am happy that he must have spoken for the good of Punjab,” Dhillon told reporters in Chandigarh.
When asked about the possibility of the two parties stitching an alliance again, the state BJP chief said he cannot say anything on this.
He, however, was quoted by ANI as saying, “We will contest all 117 seats in Punjab alone.”
Meanwhile, SAD leader and party spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema, when asked about what transpired at the meeting, told PTI, “I can only say that the two leaders have met.”
Senior party leader Sikandar Singh Maluka said the current situation in Punjab demands an alliance of the SAD and the BJP. He, however, clarified that it was his personal opinion and not that of the party.
“If an alliance is to be stitched, what will be the conditions? Any decision on this will be taken after due deliberations in the party,” Maluka said, adding, “The sentiment of people is that SAD and BJP should form an alliance. This is not the party’s opinion but my own.”
Punjab Elections 2027
In recent months, several Punjab BJP leaders have maintained that they were preparing to fight all the 117 assembly seats on their own.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, attending a rally in Moga in March, had said that the BJP would fight the 2027 elections to form its own government in Punjab.
In June, Sukhbir Singh Badal had said that his aim was to strengthen his party. He had declined to comment when asked about the possibility of a tie-up with the BJP.
The Akali Dal snapped its 24-year-old alliance with the BJP in September 2020, citing differences over the three farm laws introduced by the Centre. The laws were repealed later following vehement protests by farmers.
SAD-BJP alliance in past
Before their electoral alliance came to an end, the Akalis and the BJP used to fight all elections together.
Badal’s wife and Lok Sabha MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal was part of the Modi government as a minister in the Cabinet rank.
As per their electoral pact, the BJP used to contest 23 seats and SAD 94 seats in the assembly elections. In the parliamentary polls, the SAD used to go for 10 seats and the BJP for the remaining three.
The SAD-BJP combine had formed governments in the state thrice: In 1997-2002, 2007-12, and 2012-17.
After the alliance ended, the BJP fought the 2022 assembly elections along with SAD (Sanyukt) and former chief minister Amarinder Singh’s Punjab Lok Congress, which later merged with the BJP.
In the 2022 polls, the BJP won two seats, while the SAD was victorious in three.
The two former allies fought the 2024 Lok Sabha elections separately. Combined, they garnered 33 per cent votes, but won only one seat — Bathinda by SAD’s Harsimrat Kaur Badal.
The BJP, which unsuccessfully contested all 13 parliamentary seats, managed to increase its vote share from 9.6 per cent in 2019 to nearly 19 per cent in 2024.
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