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Day after Modi-Sukhbir meeting, Shiromani Akali Dal supports women’s quota, delimitation bills
The SAD had earlier described the delimitation bill as “highly discriminatory” but have since called for fairness towards states with lower populations.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Saturday announced its support for the Women’s Reservation Bill and the Delimitation Bill, calling for their immediate implementation and backing the Centre’s proposal for a uniform 50% increase in the number of seats for all states.
The decision was taken at a meeting of senior SAD leaders in Chandigarh chaired by party president Sukhbir Singh Badal, a day after he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the latter’s office in the Parliament House complex in New Delhi. The meeting between the two leaders has triggered fresh speculation about a possible rapprochement between the SAD and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which were former allies.
The party’s support comes as the Centre makes another attempt to secure parliamentary approval for a Constitution Amendment Bill providing for 33% reservation for women in legislatures. The government has also proposed redrawing Lok Sabha constituencies following delimitation and increasing the total number of Lok Sabha seats.
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Sukhbir Singh Badal renews his position
Announcing the party’s position, Badal said the SAD favoured a “fair and equitable” delimitation exercise that would ensure equal representation for all states.
“The Shiromani Akali Dal supported the proposal which was put up by the Government of India on the floor of the House for a uniform increase of 50% of seats of all states,” Badal said in a post on X.
He added that both women’s reservation and delimitation should be implemented without further delay.
On women’s reservation, Badal said the SAD drew inspiration from the teachings of Sikh Gurus, who championed the dignity, equality and equal rights of women. He also pointed to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), saying it had already set an example by providing for women’s reservation in its House.
The SAD’s revised position on delimitation is significant because the party had earlier raised strong objections to the Centre’s proposed population-based exercise.
In April, Badal described the proposed delimitation as “highly discriminatory” against Punjab. He maintained that while the SAD firmly favored women’s reservation, it would oppose any attempt to use the women’s quota as a “camouflage for delimitation”.
The party’s latest stand, however, supports the government’s proposal for a uniform 50% increase in seats across all states.
SAD leaders said the objective was to ensure that states which had successfully controlled population growth in accordance with national family-planning norms were not placed at a disadvantage.
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“We have not opposed delimitation”
Speaking after Saturday’s meeting, senior SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema said the party had never opposed delimitation as such, but wanted safeguards for states that had controlled their population.
“We have not opposed the delimitation. We wanted that those states which have controlled population as per national family norms should not be put to any disadvantage,” Cheema said.
He also urged Parliament to pass both bills and ensure their implementation without delay.
Senior SAD leader Naresh Gujral said the decision was “a logical thing” for the party to do. “We have one member in the Parliament and we cannot just oppose the two bills for the sake of it,” said Gujral, party vice-president and former Rajya Sabha member. “We have been supporting women’s reservation in Parliament and delimitation is the need of the hour,” he further said.
The SAD’s announcement has assumed additional political significance because it came just a day after Badal’s meeting with the Prime Minister.
A possible SAD-BJP alliance
The SAD and BJP had been long-standing partners and contested elections together in Punjab before their alliance broke down over the now-repealed three farm laws. The SAD subsequently walked out of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 2020.
The meeting between Badal and Modi has since fuelled speculation that the two parties could explore the possibility of reviving their political alliance ahead of the crucial Punjab assembly elections due early next year.
However, the SAD has not made any formal announcement regarding a possible tie-up with the BJP.
Asked about the possibility of an alliance, Cheema said Modi was the Prime Minister and Sukhbir Badal, as party president, could meet him at any time.
“You can ask him (Badal) about it when you meet him. I do not comment on these matters because the role of a spokesperson is to convey the party’s decisions to the media,” Cheema said, adding that the party would inform the media when a decision was taken.
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The renewed political speculation comes at a time when the SAD is seeking to regain its electoral relevance in Punjab. In the 2022 Punjab assembly elections, the SAD won only three of the 117 seats, while the BJP secured two seats. The results marked a sharp decline from the period when the two parties together formed one of Punjab’s principal political alliances.
Before the break-up, the SAD and BJP routinely contested elections together in Punjab. Together, the two parties formed governments in Punjab thrice — in 1997, 2007 and 2012. Badal’s wife, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, had also served as a cabinet minister in the Modi government.
