Chandigarh, Jan 21 (UNI) Punjab Pradesh Congress president Sunil Jakhar on Tuesday said the BJP high command appears to be in a determined mood to get rid of the present leadership of the SAD.
His comment followed Shiromani Akali Dal's decision to boycott Delhi Assembly elections.
From the current political standoff it seems that it may not be possible for the SAD's present leadership to maintain its status in the party after the BJP snaps ties with the regional party and it looks almost imminent, he said.
Referring to the recent political developments, Mr Jakhar said such incidents were not a coincidence but the BJP was actually planning to offload the burden of the current leadership of the SAD. He said that the present leadership of the Akali Dal, which was blasphemous on the issue of sacrilege incidents and drug addiction, was now considered a burden on the BJP. That's why first S Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa was honoured with Padma Bhushan without the consent of the Akali Dal. And then by keeping SAD off from Haryana Assembly poll alliance, the BJP has made it clear that it was no more interested in the current leadership that was turning the SAD into Badal Akali Dal.
He said that in fact, the BJP has realised that the current leadership of the Akali Dal has not only lost its base among the people but it can also harm the BJP's own political prospects. This was why the BJP was planning to dismantle the existing leadership of the Akali Dal under a long-term strategy. 'Without the logistic support of the BJP, it would not be possible for the Akali Dal president Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal to maintain his hold on the party. Parkash Singh Badal's influence in the party stays diminished and Sukhbir’s dictatorship in
the party may trigger the fall of this old regional party, Jakhar said.
Referring to the BJP's strategy, Mr Jakhar said, of course, the BJP wants to backtrack not from the Akali Dal but also from its current leadership since the latter turned opportunists and joined hands with
BJP’s political adversaries in Haryana elections.
UNI JS SB 1757