Lok Sabha Polls 2024: BJP, Akali Dal's talks for alliance fail

The talks for an alliance between the BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Punjab have failed, sources told India Today TV on Sunday. The saffron party's leadership in the state was also not in favour of the alliance with the Akali Dal, which was earlier part of the NDA but left the group over three farm laws.

The BJP changed its strategy after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) announced it would contest all 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab. Sources told India Today that the SAD was also exerting pressure on the BJP regarding the issues of the farmers' movement and the release of Sikh prisoners.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP and Akali Dal had contested together and won 4 of 13 seats. The BJP had contested 3 and bagged 2 while Akali Dal contested 10 but could win two seats. 

For BJP, Sunny Deol won the Gurdaspur seat and Som Parkash won the Hoshiarpur seat. 

The SAD's late patriarch and former Punjab Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal, broke ranks with the BJP in 2020 in the backdrop of the farmers' protest against the now-repealed farm laws.

When asked about speculations about Akali Dal joining the NDA, Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal said, "I am currently doing 'Punjab Bachao Yatra', our alliance is with BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party). They (Congress and AAP) are thieves and have ruined Punjab."

On Saturday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that in the next 10–15 days, the AAP will declare its candidates for all 13 seats. "You have to make AAP sweep all these 14 seats with a majority," he said while addressing an event in Punjab.

(With inputs from Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu)