BJP Veterans Resist Calls For Renewed Alliance with Shiromani Akali Dal In Punjab

Hans India

a day ago

The recent suggestion by Sunil Jakhar for the Bharatiya Janata Party to reestablish its partnership with the Shiromani Akali Dal has triggered significant resistance from within the party's Punjab unit, with veteran leaders and the national leadership expressing strong reservations about revisiting what they consider a politically limiting arrangement from the past.
Jakhar's public declaration advocating for renewed cooperation between the two parties, which he positioned as necessary for maintaining communal harmony in Punjab, has been met with skepticism from long-serving BJP members who spent years operating under what they describe as the restrictive framework of Akali dominance. These seasoned politicians, along with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh activists and ideological workers, view the proposal as a regression to a period they believed had been definitively left behind.
The party's recent organizational changes signal a clear direction away from Jakhar's approach. On July 7, BJP national president J.P. Nadda appointed Pathankot MLA Ashwani Sharma as the state unit's working president, marking a return to trusted cadre leadership. Punjab, along with Manipur, had been unable to complete organizational elections for mandals and districts, necessitating Sharma's appointment initially as working president rather than full president. However, the party high command subsequently instructed Sharma to complete the electoral process, representing what many interpret as the party's return to its established organizational structure.
The appointment of Sharma, who had previously served as state chief twice during the earlier BJP-SAD alliance, represents a significant shift from the experimental leadership approach that brought Jakhar to prominence two years ago. Party insiders suggest that Jakhar's tenure revealed his inability to understand the concerns of long-term party members and his misalignment with core BJP and Sangh ideological principles.
Veterans within the Punjab BJP argue that the previous alliance arrangement primarily benefited the Badal-led Akali Dal rather than creating genuine partnership. During those years, the BJP found itself confined to urban constituencies while the Akalis dominated rural areas and dictated the terms of political engagement. This arrangement forced BJP leaders to moderate their positions on various issues, from religious matters to rural politics, effectively limiting their ability to articulate an independent political identity.
The dissolution of the BJP-SAD alliance in 2020, triggered by disagreements over central farm legislation, provided what many party members describe as liberation from these constraints. For the first time in decades, the BJP could assess its authentic strength in Punjab without being filtered through Akali priorities or limited by coalition compromises.
Recent electoral performance has provided encouragement for those favoring independent growth. While the BJP did not secure any Lok Sabha seats in the 2024 general elections, the party demonstrated significant improvement by leading in 23 assembly segments and finishing as a close second in approximately 10 additional constituencies. The party captured around 19 percent of the total vote share, substantially outperforming the SAD, which saw its support decline below 12 percent. In 65 assembly segments, BJP candidates received more votes than their SAD counterparts, achievements that occurred despite ongoing farmer protests and anti-BJP sentiment in rural areas.
These results have convinced many party leaders that the BJP can build sustainable political influence without relying on Akali partnerships. Senior leaders from the Doaba region, who have been associated with the party since the Atal Bihari Vajpayee era, argue that direct engagement with Sikh voters without SAD intermediaries represents a more promising long-term strategy than returning to restrictive alliance arrangements.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has also developed comprehensive outreach programs targeting Sikh communities, scholars, and institutions both within Punjab and internationally. These efforts focus on ideological dialogue rather than transactional political relationships, creating spaces for Sikh voices that embrace both religious devotion and nationalist perspectives without requiring SAD endorsement.
Recent RSS initiatives include consultations led by sarkaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale and other senior leaders with Punjab-based Sangh activists, ideologues, and academics to deepen understanding of border state dynamics and Sikh community concerns. These efforts represent systematic attempts to build authentic relationships rather than depend on traditional political intermediaries.
Party leaders highlight various achievements of the Modi government that directly benefited Sikh communities, including the removal of blacklisted Sikhs from entry restrictions, the opening of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor through negotiations with Pakistan, and policies accommodating Sikh religious practices such as allowing Amritdhari Sikhs to carry kirpans on domestic flights. During the alliance years, SAD often claimed credit for such initiatives, but the party's credibility crisis has limited its ability to effectively communicate these achievements to Sikh constituents.
Current SAD leader Sukhbir Badal has responded to alliance discussions by stating that his party would only align with those genuinely supporting Punjab's interests, while listing demands including the release of convicted Sikh militants. However, BJP leaders note that the Modi government had already released some Sikh militants during its first term without receiving political credit from SAD.
The broader political landscape in Punjab appears to support the BJP's independent approach. The decline of radical elements, exemplified by figures like Amritpal Singh, the poor performance of Khalistan-aligned candidates in Canada's 2024 elections, and reduced interest in separatist narratives among Punjab's youth suggest that de-radicalization processes are gradually taking effect. This changing environment creates opportunities for parties that can communicate respectfully and directly with Sikh communities without relying on traditional alliance structures.
BJP's evolving approach is evident in specific situations such as the party's support for actor-singer Diljit Dosanjh during controversies surrounding his movie Sardaar Ji 3, which featured a Pakistani actress. Rather than allowing radical groups to exploit the issue for anti-government sentiment, the BJP effectively defused tensions by backing Dosanjh, demonstrating a more nuanced understanding of contemporary Sikh concerns.
Many party leaders view Jakhar's alliance proposal as applying outdated solutions to current challenges. They argue that Punjab's political dynamics have fundamentally changed since the 1990s, requiring fresh approaches rather than revival of previous arrangements. Some leaders suggest that Jakhar's perspective may be influenced by his Congress background, where broad coalitions were standard practice, rather than reflecting the BJP's emphasis on ideological consistency and long-term vision.
The party is instead focusing on developing independent political strategies tailored to Punjab's diverse constituencies. This includes engaging with backward classes, ex-servicemen, traders, and communities in regions where neither Congress nor the Aam Aadmi Party maintains strong presence. In the Majha region, the BJP sees potential among border villages and mixed Hindu-Sikh constituencies, while in Doaba, non-resident Indians and Dalit voters appear increasingly receptive to nationalist messaging independent of Akali influence.
Senior BJP leadership has chosen not to publicly confront Jakhar over his alliance suggestions, but their strategic direction clearly emphasizes building direct relationships with Sikh communities rather than outsourcing such engagement to SAD. The party's future in Punjab appears to depend on patient, systematic outreach efforts conducted village by village, institution by institution, rather than broad political deals with declining coalition partners.
This approach reflects the BJP's broader organizational philosophy of sustainable growth through ideological engagement rather than electoral convenience, suggesting that calls for renewed SAD alliance are unlikely to gain traction among decision-makers who have invested years in building independent political infrastructure in Punjab.