Buzz over a possible alliance between the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) grew on Tuesday amid reports of the former set to assume a “big brother” role if the two parties formed an alliance for the 2027 Assembly elections in Punjab.
“Whether it plays the role of an elder brother or a younger brother, whether they contest 117 seats or 17 seats, BJP is going to get zero seats in Punjab. Everyone knows what happened to them in 2017 and 2022. AAP leader Baltej Pannu on the other hand took a dig at SAD, claiming that the party was completely decimated in Punjab. “…In politics, it is the people themselves who decide who the ‘big brother’ is and who the ‘younger brother’ is; the parties do not make this decision…The Akali Dal (Badal) has been politically decimated in Punjab. Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring also reacted to the alliance buzz. “The ground reality is that BJP supporters do not vote for the Akali Dal, and similarly, Akali Dal supporters do not vote for the BJP. So, Congress is not affected by either the BJP or SAD in the Punjab polls,” he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI . During a meeting with party workers in Patiala, he didn’t mention any alliance talks and only urged members to work towards securing a victory for the BJP.
A day after BJP’s national general secretary (organisation) BL Santosh clarified that the party would be contesting all 117 seats in Punjab independently, several political leaders were asked about reports claiming that the BJP could assume a “big brother” role if the partnership ended up happening. SAD Vice President Sanjiv Talwar told news agency ANI that the final decisions rested in the hands of Sukhbir Singh Badal, but also shared his personal view on the matter: “The people of Punjab rightly feel that there is only one alliance capable of ousting the current government—an alliance between the Shiromani Akali Dal and BJP” The ruling AAP also downplayed the BJP-SAD alliance buzz, asserting that the BJP would get “zero seats” no matter how it decides to contest the polls. Let me tell you this in advance,” Punjab Minister Tarunpreet Singh told ANI. They are ready to do anything to save the reputation of the Badal family in the Assembly,” he said.
India Today had reported that the BJP-SAD alliance was in the final stages and that the BJP could assume the ‘big brother’ role.
