‘What is dynastic politics? These are elected leaders. But BJP wants to be in power forever. So is dictatorship ok?… It is shunning own retirement age’: Sukhbir Badal

Commandeering his first Lok Sabha election without his father, the late Akali patriarch Parkash Singh Badal, by his side or the BJP as an ally, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal is maintaining a blistering pace in Punjab. In rally after rally, he targets the ruling Aam Aadmi Party’s “jhooth da pand (sack of lies)”, reminds the audience of the Operation Bluestar ordered in the Golden Temple by a Congress government, and declares that, no matter what, one should not vote for a “polarising” BJP.

In between two rallies at Faridkot, he tells The Indian Express that SAD, India’s oldest regional party, is confident of a revival in these polls, following its poorest-ever showing in the 2022 Assembly elections. Excerpts:

* Why did SAD not join any alliance this time? How is it playing out on the ground?

I’m very clear: I can’t enter into unprincipled alliances. After we supported the farmers’ agitation, the BJP started systematically attacking our institutions, such as Takht Patna Sahib and Takht Hazoor Sahib, by wresting control. What was the need to change the Takht Hazoor Sahib Act? They also dismantled the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee in Haryana.

Also, national parties contest in Punjab for the numbers. They act as conquerors, almost in the same vein as the East India Company. Our interest is the welfare of Punjab. Akali means Punjab, Punjabis and Sikhs. Akalis are secular, as Sikhs by nature are secular. Look at our Gurus, they sacrificed their lives to protect others.

We need peace and communal harmony in Punjab. We went through a terrible phase in the state, and can’t let it happen again. That’s why we decided to build on our strength instead of joining hands with anyone. In this election, all