NDTV explains: Why Akali Dal says ‘no’ to BJP in Lok Sabha polls

Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal (file photo).

Chandigarh:

The BJP and the Akali Dal in Punjab will not reunite before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections – an alliance that collapsed in September 2020 over huge differences over the Centre’s three (now scrapped) farm laws. The Bharatiya Janata Party confirmed this week that it will contest 13 seats in the state alone.

However, Akalis claimed that a mismatch in core ideologies was the reason why the alliance was unable to reform. The party has also hinted at plans to contest the 2027 assembly elections on its own and is expected to use the Lok Sabha polls as an opportunity to refine its general agenda.

Sources said this outreach is based on the strong regional identity and development of the Akali Dal as a socio-cultural and political force in the region, which clashes with the nationalist political ideology of the BJP.

Sources stressed that apart from differences on political, religious and socio-cultural issues, the Akali leadership is also aware of the BJP’s image as a “destroying regional force” while parties in other parts of India, such as the Bengal Party, have A warning was issued against this image. Trinamool and DMK in Tamil Nadu.

Read | The Bharatiya Janata Party will fight alone in Punjab in a four-way battle for 13 Lok Sabha seats

Many Akali leaders believe that the BJP hopes to leverage their party and its vote base to achieve the party-led National Democratic Alliance’s target of 400 seats. Akali also fears that if the Lok Sabha exercise is successful, the BJP will demand more seats in the 2027 elections.

Moreover, unlike in 1996 when the BJP and Akalis were tied together, the latter set conditions for its return, including a promise in November 2019 to release Sikh prisoners who had completed their sentences.

As early as 1996, Akali Dal had unconditionally supported the BJP and claimed that the BJP symbolized Hindu-Sikh unity. After 24 years, the link broke down amid protests from farmers.

All this is reflected in a carefully worded resolution passed by the Akali Dal last week.

Late Akali Dal patriarch Parkash Singh Badal and Prime Minister Narendra Modi (file photo).

Last week, the Akali Party outlined these concerns and said it would “continue to put principles before politics… and never deviate from its historic role as the defender of all Punjabis”.

“As the sole representative of Sikhs and all Punjabis, the party will continue to fight for more powers and true autonomy for the states,” it said in a resolution seen as a tacit endorsement of the party’s Decline in status among Punjabi voters.

Akali vs BJP vs AAP vs Congress in Punjab

The Akalis Independent Party means that 13 seats in Punjab will face a four-way contest, with the Congress and the ruling Aam Aadmi Party also competing. The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, both members of India’s opposition bloc, have so far failed and any seat-sharing deal now seems unlikely to be agreed.

In 2019, the Congress party, then led by former chief minister (and ex-MP) Amarinder Singh, held eight of the state’s 13 seats. The BJP and the Akalis won two victories each. AAP got one.

The Akali Dal Party got over 27% of the votes, while the BJP got less than 10% of the votes. This huge disparity highlights why the saffron party wants to keep the Akalis on its side.

Read | Punjab BJP rules out alliance with Akali, says it will conduct separate polls

The assembly election in three years was the first time in five polling cycles that the Akali Dal and the BJP were not allies. Prior to this, the Akalis’ seat distribution had always been 94 to 23.

In the 2022 election, the two competed separately and both were eliminated. The Akali Dal won only three seats (out of four, including the sole seat of its ally Bahujan Samaj Party), while the BJP got only two seats.

Akali Dal’s fortunes declined sharply. Five years ago, it won 15 of the 94 seats allocated, but the BJP fared just as poorly – winning just three seats. This comes exactly five years after the Akali-BJP coalition won the election. The Akalis won 56 out of 94 seats and the BJP won 12 out of 23 seats.

For the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Punjab will go to single-phase polls on April 19.

Results will be announced on June 4.

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