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Sukhbir meets Modi, rekindles SAD-BJP alliance talks ahead of Punjab elections
First one-on-one political meeting between two leaders since SAD, BJP severed ties in 2020 over the three controversial farm laws
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Parliament House in New Delhi, fuelling speculation over the SAD rejoining hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the high-stakes 2027 Punjab assembly elections.
This was Sukhbir’s first meeting with Modi ever since the SAD and BJP snapped ties over the three controversial farm laws in 2020, ending their 23-year-old alliance that began in 1997 and was often seen as a symbol of Hindu-Sikh unity. Together, the two parties formed governments in Punjab thrice — in 1997, 2007 and 2012.
Sukhbir’s wife and Lok Sabha MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal had also served as a Union cabinet minister in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government before resigning over the agriculture laws, which were later withdrawn.
In the six years since then, the two leaders have not publicly held a one-on-one political meeting, although Modi had visited the SAD headquarters in Chandigarh to pay respects to former Punjab chief minister and SAD patriarch Parkash Singh Badal after his death in April 2023.
Speaking to mediapersons after the meeting, Sukhbir said he came to “discuss issues pertaining to Punjab”, but did not comment on the possibility of a reunion with the ruling NDA.
Friday’s meeting assumes significance against the backdrop of political activity gathering pace in Punjab, with the assembly elections scheduled early next year and the model code of conduct likely to come into force by the end of this year.
While the BJP has, over the past several months, consistently maintained that it will contest the 2027 elections independently on all 117 seats, talks of a possible re-alliance with the SAD have remained at the centre of political discourse in the state.
The last time the two parties contested separately, in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the SAD won only one of Punjab’s 13 seats, while the BJP failed to open its account.
In the 2022 assembly polls, their first electoral contest apart in more than two decades, the SAD won only three of the 117 seats — its worst-ever performance — while the BJP managed just two.
Battling an existential political crisis, the SAD has been striving for a revival while keeping the option of renewing ties with the BJP open, particularly amid sustained Opposition attacks over the sacrilege issue.
Within the BJP too, a section of the old guard, including former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh and former state BJP chief Sunil Jakhar, has consistently advocated reviving the alliance, describing it as important for both development and communal harmony in Punjab.
“It was a strong alliance and there is a group of leaders who believe that the combination can wrest power from the Aam Aadmi Party. But there are also some who believe that the alliance had limited the BJP to the urban areas and now it is time to expand the party’s reach,” said a senior party lawmaker.
The two parties did try to reconcile ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, but the talks collapsed over seat-sharing. The BJP sought five of Punjab’s 13 parliamentary seats, while the SAD was willing to concede only four.
The BJP subsequently contested all 13 seats on its own but failed to win any. However, encouraged by securing around an 18% vote share independently, the party leadership declared that it would also contest the 2027 assembly elections on its own.
During their recent visits to Punjab, Union home minister Amit Shah and BJP national president Nitin Nabin reiterated that the party was preparing to contest all 117 seats. Friday’s meeting between Sukhbir and Modi has nevertheless rekindled talk that the former allies could once again explore reviving their alliance.
Neither the Prime Minister’s Office nor the SAD had issued an official statement on the meeting till the filing of this report.
However, a senior SAD leader confirmed to HT that the possibility of an alliance figured on the agenda of the meeting.
BJP’s newly appointed Punjab unit president Kewal Singh Dhillon, on the other hand, told mediapersons, “Any senior leader can meet the PM. Sukhbir Singh Badal was the deputy CM. I am happy that he must have spoken for the good of Punjab. We will contest all 117 seats in Punjab alone. A major joining is going to happen.”
In Delhi, this view was reiterated by party spokesperson RP Singh, who said a meeting with the PM did not indicate a compromise.
“It does not mean that we are going to have any alliance or compromise. We are preparing to contest elections on all 117 seats, and we are fully prepared to fight and win on all 117 seats. Sukhbir Singh Badal must have had certain issues related to Punjab that he wanted to discuss, which is why he met the Prime Minister,” he said.
Political insiders said Sukhbir had also met Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini a few days ago. Saini over the past months has been actively involved in strengthening the BJP’s organisational footprint in Punjab.
Kejriwal takes swipe at SAD, BJP
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal on Friday gave air to the speculation of the BJP and SAD forming an alliance for the 2027 Punjab elections following a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal.
“Na na karte pyaar tumhi se kar baithe (Despite saying no, we ended up falling in love with you). So, is an alliance forming between the Chandachor Party and the Beadabi Party?” Kejriwal posted on X.
Leader of Opposition Partap Bajwa remarked that the alliance was bound to happen as both parties tried their best to expand on their own, but failed. “But they are both broken arms. So even if they join each other, it will hardly make any difference,” he quipped.
