Chandigarh: Punjab BJP chief Sunil Kumar Jakhar stated Sunday that former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal’s “historic move” of sewing an alliance between the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the BJP was not a political transfer. It was a transfer to heal a terror-torn state and make sure that Punjab by no means returned to the darkish abyss of militancy, stated Jakhar.
Jakhar was talking at a gathering within the Badal village the place the SAD organised a programme to mark the primary loss of life anniversary of Parkash Singh Badal. A five-time Punjab chief minister, Badal headed the occasion for over a decade earlier than he handed away at 95 years of age in April final 12 months.
Heaping praises on the SAD patriarch, Jakhar stated Badal acted like a real statesman and rose above political variations to bond with the BJP forward of the 1997 election. “The atmosphere in Punjab at that time was not particularly conducive for such an alliance… many would have said that this move would not be acceptable to the panth (Sikh community)… but Badal saab still did it because he knew the SAD-BJP alliance was the only way peace could return to Punjab and all divisions could be repaired,” stated Jakhar.
The SAD and the BJP remained allies for greater than 20 years however parted methods in September 2020 when the Punjab-led farmers began a protest on the borders of Delhi in opposition to the three central farm legal guidelines introduced in by the Modi authorities. The Akali Dal pulled out of the alliance in assist of the agitation.
Jakhar’s glowing tribute to Badal positive aspects significance within the gentle of a revival of talks between the 2 events for an alliance forward of the parliamentary election.
In the previous week, Jakhar has talked about an impending alliance with the SAD on a number of events whereas speaking to media individuals. On Friday, after flagging off Viksit Bharat Modi Ki Guarantee video vans at Chandigarh, Jakhar stated the demand or name for the alliance was an “emotion of the masses”.
Last week, Jakhar stated on a TV channel that he was all for such an alliance, however the last determination lay with the occasion excessive command. The two events had been in a complicated stage of seat sharing talks final month, however it was placed on the again burner within the wake of the farmers’ agitation on the Shambhu border. However, with the agitation nearly tapering off, sources within the two events stated the 2 sides have revived talks and will announce seat-sharing preparations within the coming days.
They added that there was a excessive chance of an settlement on the BJP contesting 5 seats and the Akalis eight. In the sooner association, the BJP contested three seats and Akalis 10.
The sources stated that other than contesting its three conventional seats of Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur, the BJP may contest Patiala and Ludhiana. That would depart the remaining seats of Anandpur Sahib, Bhatinda, Sangrur, Jalandhar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Faridkot, Ferozepur, and Khadoor Sahib to the Akalis.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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