Decode Politics: Why BJP is going alone in Punjab, why Akali Dal is hopeful of best

ONCE among the country’s longest-lasting political allies, the BJP and Akali Dal’s efforts to re-unite ahead of the Lok Sabha polls did not bear fruit eventually. The announcement that the BJP would fight the elections alone was made by its state president Sunil Jakhar, who had been among the strongest votaries of tying up with the Akali Dal.

In the days leading up to the announcement, Jakhar, a former Congress leader, had said: “I strongly believe that regional parties should be strengthened as they are the voice of the people. The minority community tag is often applied to the Sikh community and I feel that there should be a party to raise their voice.”

There are still more than two months to voting day in Punjab (June 1), and going by the past few days, the BJP has other means to catch up. On Tuesday, sitting Ludhiana MP of the Congress Ravneet Singh Bittu joined the BJP; on Wednesday, it was the turn of sitting Jalandhar MP of the Aam Aadmi Party, Sushil Kumar Rinku.

In the 2019 elections, bucking the Modi wave, the Congress had won eight of the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab, the Akali Dal and BJP two each, and AAP 1.

This will be the first Lok Sabha elections where the Akali Dal and BJP will contest separately. In 2019, their alliance had won four seats after the BJP won two of the three seats assigned to it and the Akali Dal the same, out of the 10 in its kitty.

A little over a year later, the Akali Dal walked out of the NDA over the controversial farm laws that saw year-long protests on Delhi borders.

As part of their tie-up till 2019, the Akali Dal would contest 10 of the 13 seats in Punjab, with the BJP fielding candidates in Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur and Amritsar. In 2019, the BJP won Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur; while actor