Shah's NDA pitch finds echo in Sukhbir Badal's alliance remarks, reviving Punjab tie-up speculation

Neeraj Bali

Chandigarh, Oct 23 (UNI) A day after union Home Minister Amit Shah predicted an NDA government in Punjab in 2027, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal signalled openness to political alliances on Friday, reviving speculation about a possible reunion with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the Assembly elections.

The political significance of Badal's remarks lay not merely in keeping alliance options open but also in identifying the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress as the Akali Dal's two principal adversaries, notably leaving the BJP outside that formulation. "Any party that agrees with the ideology and programme of the Shiromani Akali Dal is welcome. We have kept our alliance options open," Badal said. Describing the SAD as a regional party committed primarily to Punjab's interests, Badal said electoral considerations would not override its political priorities.

"For us, Punjab comes first. Whether we form a government or not, we will continue fighting for Punjabis," he said, adding that Congress and AAP were the state's two biggest political adversaries. His comments came less than 24 hours after Shah, addressing an event in New Delhi on Thursday, asserted that the NDA would form the next government in Punjab following the 2027 elections.

Shah's specific reference to the NDA, rather than the BJP alone, attracted attention against the backdrop of earlier statements by BJP leaders about contesting all 117 Assembly seats independently. Although neither party has announced negotiations, the timing of the two statements has brought the possibility of renewed BJP-SAD cooperation back into focus.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, however, dismissed Shah's prediction, saying the formation of a government depended on the electorate rather than political declarations. "A government will not be formed merely because Amit Shah says so. It will be formed according to the will of the people," Mann said, accusing his political opponents of avoiding public debate. Shah had also attacked AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, alleging that he was interfering in Punjab's administration and preventing Mann from functioning independently.

The Home Minister claimed that AAP would lose power in the next elections and reiterated his commitment to eliminating the drug trade in Punjab by 2029. Badal's remarks came as an Akali Dal delegation approached Governor Gulab Chand Kataria, demanding Mann's removal over the state's drug problem and the killing of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota. The SAD accused the government of failing to curb drug trafficking and maintain law and order.

The BJP and SAD were allies for nearly 24 years before parting ways in September 2020 over the Centre's three contentious agricultural laws. Senior Akali leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned from the union Cabinet in protest before the party formally withdrew from the BJP-led NDA. The farm laws were subsequently repealed in 2021. The two parties have since pursued separate electoral strategies, although speculation about a rapprochement has surfaced periodically. Badal's latest statement does not amount to a formal alliance proposal, but his willingness to consider compatible partners, coupled with Shah's NDA formulation, has reopened a politically significant question ahead of 2027: Whether the former allies could find common ground after six years apart.

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