Chandigarh: Amid a studied silence maintained by the political parties in Punjab ahead of the March 10 counting of votes, a buzz about Shiromani Akali Dal joining hands with former ally BJP as part of post-poll alliance is growing stronger.
Most of the buzz is creation of the Akali leaders and comes amid indication that the panthic party and its poll ally Bahujan Samaj Party may not reach the magic figure of 59 to form the next government in Punjab.
A feedback gathered by the party from its cadres after the February 20 Assembly polls, suggests that the Akali Dal was “likely to win minimum 15 and maximum 20 seats” in Malwa region, which has maximum 69 Vidhan Sabha seats of the total 117 in Punjab. The party is now pinning hope on Majha and Doaba regions, which account for 25 and 23 seats, respectively.
While it is said that the road to Punjab Vidhan Sabha passes through Malwa, at times, Majha has emerged as king maker especially when the other two regions returned mixed verdict. In 2017, the Akali Dal had won only two seats out of 25 in Majha – Bikram Singh Majithia winning from Majitha and Lakhbir Singh Lodhinangal from Batala. The party had won five seats out of 23 it contested in Doaba in alliance with the BJP.
A senior Akali leader said party hoped to get “at least 10 seats each in Majha and Doaba, and at least 15 seats in Malwa”.
The leader said party’s former ally BJP was likely to get “two to three seats each” in Majha and Doaba as he underlined the probability of a post-poll alliance with the saffron party. BJP national president JP Nadda made it very clear that “Our priority is national interests, and to grow in the state…So I don’t see much scope in compromising with them (Akalis). But, I must add, our Parliamentary Board will take a decision post-election”.
Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma, when asked about a post-poll alliance with Akali Dal, said, “We contested the election to form the government. The people have given their verdict and I am hopeful that people voted to bring BJP to power”.
