Panjab State President Wants BJP-SAD Alliance, Working President Doesn’t

On 21 Jul, Panjab Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Sunil Jakhar said the party's alliance with the estranged partner Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) was the need of the hour because forces inimical to the state's interests were resurfacing as these had in 1996 when the alliance was first formalized to meet the imperatives of communal harmony. On the potential for BJP’s expansion in the state, Jakhar said the BJP should aim to win hearts rather than votes in Panjab and must connect with its 'emotional core'. Jakhar was speaking days after Ashwani Sharma, Member of Legislative Assembly from Pathankot, was appointed as state working president signalling an upcoming change of guard. 'Panjab is not merely a geographical area. It is a highly self-respecting society where a pagdi and dastar don't mean just a turban but are synonymous with the sense of sardari—self-esteem—which makes people resist all forms of absolute power. The BJP’s challenge is to grasp the soul of Panjab and assuage the hurt it feels has been historically heaped on it,' said Jakhar when asked why the BJP was struggling in the state. However, on 25 Jul, Sharma said his party would contest the 2027 state Assembly poll alone. Several BJP leaders in Panjab also argue that the experiment with Jakhar has failed because he couldn’t understand the BJP's mindset and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (BJP's parent organization) value system. 'Whatever Jakhar has conveyed are his personal views,' said a BJP leader from Panjab. BJP old-timers say while handing the state unit reins to Sharma, the party leadership has conveyed there was no scope for any re-alliance with SAD. 'The party will grow organically as well as inorganically on its own merit,' said a BJP leader pointing out that Sikh voters in Delhi voted for a BJP contesting without any alliance with SAD. SAD is adopting a cautious line. Notably, unlike his speech at Damdama Sahib on 13 Apr in which he blamed BJP, this time at Chabal on 20 Jul, SAD president Sukbir Singh Badal did not mention BJP at all (earlier coverage).