Why Akali Dal desperate for alliance with BJP, questions Punjab Congress chief

Chandigarh, Aug 9 (AHN) Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Sunday asked Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Badal as why was he so desperate for an electoral alliance with the BJP that he had to make a U-turn on a sensitive matter like delimitation of the Assembly and parliamentary constituencies.

Warring reminded Badal that just three months ago his party had opposed the Delimitation Bill and described it as against the interests of Punjab. “So, what changed within these three months that you started seeing merit in the same Bill, you otherwise found against Punjab’s interests?” he asked, while remarking, “Sukhbir has turned more loyal than the king within no time”.

He noted that the reasons are obvious: Badal, who is desperate for his political survival, is desperately trying to woo the BJP so that it agrees to an electoral alliance ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections in the state.

He said when the Akalis had failed to reach an alliance with the BJP ahead of the parliamentary elections, Badal had claimed that he did not want to compromise on the interests of Punjab. “Now that you are desperate for your own survival, you have simply forgotten the interests of Punjab for which you claimed to have taken a stand in 2024,” said Warring, who reminded Badal that his political opportunism was exposed once again.

The state Congress president asserted that even if the Akalis and the BJP come together for the elections, they stand absolutely no chance of victory. “People of Punjab have neither forgotten the sacrilege, nor the atrocities on farmers that the two parties are respectively guilty of,” he said, adding, “their coming together will hardly make any difference to their electoral fortunes, but will instead expose their opportunism”.