Bikram Majithia hints at SAD-BJP reunion ahead of 2027 Punjab Assembly polls

CHANDIGARH: Against the backdrop of speculation over a feasible alliance between the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections, senior SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia on Friday noted residents of Punjab want.

Key points

• The SAD and BJP concluded their long-standing alliance in 2020 over the Centre's farm laws and contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections separately.
• Speculation over a renewed alliance intensified after SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal met Prime Minister Narendra Modi a few days ago.
• Whether they will come together will be decided by the BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal leadership.
• Majithia remarked SAD and the BJP had parted ways over the three farm laws.
• Harsimrat Badal has indicated and this is what individuals want.

His remarks came a day after SAD MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal hinted at a feasible "ghar wapsi" of the party into the BJP-led NDA by expressing hope for "agreements" that would bring development to Punjab from Delhi.

Majithia remarked SAD and the BJP had parted ways over the three farm laws. It have since been repealed, and went on that the current situation in Punjab has revived public demand for the alliance.

"Harsimrat Badal has indicated and this is what individuals want. We should understand that the Shiromani Akali Dal and BJP have worked together, Vajpayee and Badal (Senior) had a solid alliance based on fraternity, communal harmony and Hindu-Sikh unity and that alliance was successful in Punjab and at the Centre and it continued during Modi's time. We had gone our separate ways over the farm laws, " he remarked.

He remarked residents want the two parties to come together for social harmony, law and order, development and employment in the border state.

"All this is a matter of fact. It is recorded in history. Today, individuals are demanding that given the situation in Punjab which is border state social harmony and the social fabric thus public wants both parties to come together, regarding law and order, other matters, development and employment, we should come together. Whether they will come together will be decided by the BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal leadership. Harsimrat Kaur Badal has expressed the people's sentiments. What the outcome will be, only time will tell, " he remarked.

Nayab Singh Saini rules out BJP-SAD alliance in Punjab; Poonia deputed to quell dissent in state BJP Speaking at Longowal on Thursday, Harsimrat had remarked alliances that brought development and progress to Punjab should happen again.

"It is not my duty to speak, so I am holding back my tongue. You will come to know yourself, " she had remarked.

Speculation over a renewed alliance intensified after SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal met Prime Minister Narendra Modi a few days ago. The SAD afterwards stated the session focused on matters concerning Punjab.

In practice, the SAD and BJP concluded their long-standing alliance in 2020 over the Centre's farm laws and contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections separately.

Taken together, the developments around bikram Majithia hints at SAD-BJP reunion ahead of 2027 Punjab Assembly polls point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.