BJP-Akali backdoor talks fuel alliance whispers, but major hurdles remain on road to reconciliation

Although the break-up of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the BJP in 2020 amid the farm law protests was acrimonious, whispers of a reconciliation between the BJP and its oldest NDA ally have been floating since the Union government repealed the three contentious farm laws in 2021.

Now with the Lok Sabha polls approaching, once again there is buzz in Punjab about backdoor talks between the SAD and the BJP to revive their alliance. On Saturday, sources within both parties said a first round of talks between their leaders took place in the last week of January and another is likely to happen soon. Answering questions at the ET NOW Global Business Summit the same afternoon, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, “We always want that our alliance grows and we always welcome new allies. Our ideology has remained the same since the days of Jan Sangh. Those who would like to join us can come.”

A senior BJP leader said, “Discussions about reviving the SAD-BJP alliance were being held internally when the AAP and the Congress were also holding alliance talks (which have collapsed). Can’t say anything more, except that many senior SAD leaders are ready to join the BJP.”

The alliance talk in Punjab comes at a time when the BJP is said to be mulling over rejoining hands with its old southern ally Telugu Desam Party (TDP) of Chandrababu Naidu and has welcomed back Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal (United) into the NDA fold. In Punjab, speculation about the former allies reuniting has emerged from time to time but there have not been any concrete developments yet. The reason is that there are major roadblocks that the BJP and the SAD have to overcome, given the changed political topography in the state.

Since being relieved of alliance