A meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday reignited speculation that the former allies could revive their alliance ahead of the Punjab assembly elections due early next year, although BJP leaders maintained the party was preparing to contest all 117 seats on its own.
The one-on-one meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office in Parliament House complex between the two leaders came years after the SAD walked out of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 2020 over the now-repealed farm laws, ending a 23-year alliance that began in 1997.
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After the meeting, Badal told reporters that he had met the PM to “discuss issues pertaining to Punjab”, but declined to comment on speculation about a political reunion.
Neither the Prime Minister’s Office nor the SAD issued an official statement on the meeting till late Friday evening.
{{/usCountry}}Neither the Prime Minister’s Office nor the SAD issued an official statement on the meeting till late Friday evening.
{{/usCountry}}However, a senior SAD leader told HT that the possibility of reviving the alliance figured during the discussions. The meeting comes at a time when political activity is gathering pace ahead of the crucial Punjab assembly elections, with the model code of conduct expected to come into force later this year.
‘Any senior leader can meet the PM’
The BJP has repeatedly asserted in recent months that it will contest all 117 assembly seats independently. Reiterating the party’s stand, newly appointed Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon said, “...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.”
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Echoing similar views, BJP national spokesperson RP Singh said, “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.
BJP-SAD alliances in the past
The BJP and SAD were alliance partners for over two decades and formed governments in Punjab in 1997, 2007 and 2012. The alliance ended in September 2020 after the Akali Dal withdrew from the NDA in protest against the Centre’s three farm laws. Lok Sabha MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Sukhbir Badal’s wife, also resigned from the Union cabinet over the issue. The laws were later repealed.
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The two parties explored a reunion ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, but talks collapsed over seat sharing. The BJP wanted to contest five of Punjab’s 13 parliamentary seats, while the SAD was willing to offer only four. Eventually, both parties contested separately. The SAD won only one seat while the BJP failed to open its account despite contesting all 13 seats.
In the 2022 assembly elections, the first after the alliance ended, the SAD won three seats and the BJP secured two.
AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal took a swipe at the two parties, posting on X: “Na na karte pyaar tumhi se kar baithe. So, is an alliance forming between the Chandachor Party and the Beadabi Party?”
The PM also had an hour-long meeting with deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, Ekanth Shinde on Friday. The meeting came amid speculation of a cabinet expansion in the state.
Shinde in a statement said they discussed the “ongoing parliamentary session, the role of Shivsena MPs, development works underway and floods.”