BJP chief JP Nadda calls on old ally and Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch Parkash Singh Badal

Meeting assumes significance as Badal had recently criticised the BJP-led government at the Centre on CAA, saying there is a need to take minorities along

BATHINDA: BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda will be meeting former Punjab chief minister and ally Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch Parkash Singh Badal at his native Badal village in Muktsar district on Thursday afternoon.

BJP national president JP Nadda getting a rousing welcome from party workers in Bathinda on Thursday. He was on his way to Badal village in Muktsar district to meet Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch and former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal. (Sanjeev Kumar/HT)

Nadda will head for Badal village after landing at Bathinda airport at 10.45am. The two leaders are scheduled to meet over lunch. Their meeting comes two days after Punjab BJP president Ashwani Sharma met Badal. He will also be present on the occasion.

The state BJP leadership is terming the meeting a courtesy call by Nadda, who is visiting Punjab for the first time after taking charge as party president. However, the development assumes political significance as the top leadership of the old allies will meet amid tension between BJP and Akali Dal leaders over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). At a recent Akali Dal rally in Amritsar after the BJP’s electoral loss in the recent Delhi assembly elections, Badal had criticised the BJP-led government at the Centre, saying there is a need to take minorities along.

A section of the state BJP leadership is also keen that the party assert itself as the major political partner in the SAD-BJP alliance in Punjab.

On his way to Badal, Nadda will meet party activists from south Malwa districts, including Bathinda, Muktsar, Faridkot, Fazilka and Ferozepur. These are a traditional stronghold of the SAD.

After meeting Badal, Nadda will leave for Amritsar by road to pay obeisance at Golden Temple.