Lok Sabha Elections 2019: SAD-BJP alliance in Punjab still a force to reckon with

Mauled to their worst ever defeat in the 2017 assembly elections, both are looking at the Lok Sabha contest to redeem their clout and confidence.

In pre-poll alliance since 1996, Shiromani Akali Dal and Bharatiya Janata Party are again in the fray together in 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Mauled to their worst ever defeat in the 2017 assembly elections, both are looking at the Lok Sabha contest to redeem their clout and confidence. With disaffection in their ranks, they are counting on the Modi magic.

File photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and others in Gurdaspur, Punjab. (Sameer Sehgal / HT Photo)

A look at the key leaders of the alliance: 

Sukhbir Singh Badal, SAD chief

The coming polls are a crucial electoral test for Sukhbir Singh Badal, the SAD president who is now out of the shadow of his father – five-time CM Parkash Singh Badal. Under severe attack over sacrilege and police firing incidents of 2015, the party has lost grip over its core vote bank and some senior party leaders have already jumped the ship, seeking Sukhbir’s resignation. The challenge for the former deputy CM is to keep the party and the support base intact.

Parkash Singh Badal, SAD patriarch

The nonagenarian leader is keeping himself away from party’s decision-making process, yet he continues to be the father figure for Akali Dal as well as the BJP. A moderate and an acceptable face among the urban and rural electorate, he’s a star campaigner. He had always worked for a rock solid SAD-BJP alliance and enjoyed good relations with the BJP brass from the times of Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Narendra Modi.

Now thoroughly bred in Akali politics, the Narendra Modi cabinet minister is very vocal about the religious issues. She enjoys a strong bond with her brother, former minister Bikram Singh Majithia, and follows her father-in-law Parkash Singh Badal’s person-to-person contact style of politics. Elected as MP from Bathinda for the second time in 2014, she’s ready for a re-contest from Bathinda or Ferozepur constituency.

Shawait Malik, Punjab BJP chief

Rajya Sabha MP and ex-mayor of Amritsar, Malik, 55, was surprisingly elevated to the post of state BJP chief in March 2018. After a year in the saddle, Malik is yet to prove himself in curbing the grave infighting among the party’s top rung. With the BJP not even able to find out strong candidates for three seats it contests in Punjab, the party’s performance in the upcoming general elections will decide Malik’s fate as well.

Vijay Sampla, MP, MoS

Once a plumber in Arab countries, Sampla, 57, is the Dalit face of the party in Punjab where Scheduled Castes make for around 35% of the population. The BJP high-command projected him as future face of the party and despite a first-time MP, he was made a minister of state and later elevated as state party chief as well. However, his experiment failed and party lost miserably in the 2017 assembly polls and could win only three seats. These general elections will decide Sampla’s future even as there is uncertainty over his candidature from Hoshiarpur.

What works for the alliance

Akali-BJP collectively makes a practical combination in the state, guarding the aspirations of a large section of population comprising people of all faiths and trades. Together since the Independence, both the allies have been posing a stiff challenge to the Congress party. Despite differences arising from time to time, the allies have managed to sail through because the BJP find a visible minority in Akalis to project secular credentials and Akalis need a strong ally at the Centre.

What doesn’t work

Both Akalis and BJP face criticism for having been influenced by each other’s ideology. Due to sacrilege incidents of 2015, the coalition which ran the government in the state then is the target of a large population, particularly Sikhs. Despite in power for 10 years (2007-17), the BJP has failed to spread its roots in the state.

Future of the alliance

The coalition is ready for yet another electoral battle, after a failed seat-swap attempt from both sides. In the past, both allies have faced issues of lack of coordination during the poll campaigning, which they are trying to overcome this time with a collective decision to focus on achievements of the Modi-led BJP government at the Centre.

What are they up against

With PDA and SAD (Taksali) as the new entrants in the poll fray, a multi-cornered contest is building up in some segments. Akalis fear shifting away of their core Panthic constituency to other parties. The BJP is in a crisis situation in the state for having failed to establish contact with the electorate. The allies, BJP in particular, is taking time to finalise candidates.

Lok Sabha elections 2019: Key players and issues in Punjab