Daijiworld Media Network - Chandigarh
Chandigarh, Nov 8: With its electoral base shrinking and internal divisions growing, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is facing mounting pressure to reconsider its former alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections. For the Akali leadership, a reunion could increasingly become a question of political survival rather than merely an electoral realignment.
Although the SAD maintains that any alliance decision rests with party president Sukhbir Singh Badal, several senior leaders have spoken favourably about a possible tie-up in recent months. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has also twice referred to the possibility of an NDA government in Punjab in 2027, while BJP national president Nitin Nabin has indicated that his party is open to alliances.
However, the signals have largely come from the BJP's national leadership and the SAD, while the BJP's Punjab unit continues to maintain that it is preparing to contest all 117 Assembly seats independently.
Speculation intensified after Sukhbir's August 7 meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Subsequently, the SAD supported the Women's Reservation Bill and the Centre's proposal to increase the number of Assembly seats by 50 per cent, marking a shift from its earlier opposition to the reservation measure.
On August 20, Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal hinted at the possibility of an alliance while addressing a gathering in Sangrur. Her brother and party leader Bikram Singh Majithia subsequently said people wanted the SAD and BJP to reunite. Veteran leader Sikander Singh Maluka also described such an alliance as the "voice of the masses". Harsimrat later clarified that her remarks had been misinterpreted.
Electoral figures underline the potential benefits of a reunion. The SAD-BJP alliance together secured 37.08 per cent of the vote in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and won four seats. After their split, the BJP's vote share increased from 9.63 per cent in 2019 to 18.56 per cent in 2024, while the SAD's share declined from 27.45 per cent to 13.42 per cent.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the two parties together secured 31.98 per cent of the vote, higher than the Congress's 26.30 per cent and the Aam Aadmi Party's 26.02 per cent. However, the BJP failed to win any of Punjab's 13 seats, while the SAD managed just one.
The Assembly election figures also reflect the decline of both parties after their separation. In 2017, when they contested as allies, the SAD won 15 seats and the BJP three. In 2022, the SAD was reduced to three seats and the BJP won two.
The SAD's position has weakened particularly sharply. It currently has just one MLA and one Lok Sabha MP. Of the three MLAs elected on its ticket in 2022, one joined the AAP and another moved to Akali Dal Waris Punjab De. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, SAD candidates lost their security deposits in 10 of the 13 constituencies they contested.
The party is also facing competition from breakaway Akali formations, including SAD (Punar Surjit), led by former Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh, and Akali Dal Waris Punjab De, led by Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh. The emergence of these groups has further complicated the SAD's efforts to reclaim its traditional political support base.
The BJP, meanwhile, also has reasons to consider a renewed partnership. Despite improving its vote share in Punjab, the party has struggled to convert that support into electoral victories. Its former alliance with the SAD provided access to a strong rural network and an established organisational presence in Sikh and agrarian constituencies. The BJP, in turn, brought urban votes and the advantage of a wider national alliance.
However, a reunion would carry political challenges for the SAD. The party's opponents, particularly the AAP and Congress, have questioned its possible return to the BJP fold. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has repeatedly invoked the farmers' agitation against the Centre's farm laws, during which more than 750 farmers reportedly died over the year-long protest. He has also targeted the SAD over issues of sacrilege and drugs.
The SAD would therefore have to explain to its traditional support base why it is considering an alliance with a party it parted ways with in 2020 over the farm laws.
Responding to Shah's reference to an NDA government in Punjab on November 2, Sukhbir said he was "not an astrologer" and asked people to wait a few days. He has maintained that the SAD is open to alliances with parties other than the Congress and AAP, provided they accept its ideology and stand for Punjab's interests.
The BJP's Punjab leadership, however, has remained publicly non-committal. State president Kewal Singh Dhillon has reiterated that the party is preparing to contest all 117 seats, stating that "in Punjab, NDA means BJP only".
With the 2027 elections approaching, the possibility of a reunion remains uncertain. For the SAD, contesting alone could preserve its political independence, but another election amid a fragmented Akali vote could further weaken its position. An alliance with the BJP may offer electoral advantages, but it also carries the risk of alienating sections of its traditional support base.