Denied alliance in Hry, SAD’s bid to get even with BJP fails

SAD’S PREPARATIONS TO GET INTO ALLIANCE WITH SAFFRON PARTY FOR FIRST TIME IN HARYANA ENDED ABRUPTLY WHEN ITS LONE MLA FROM KALANWALI JOINED BJP 3 WEEKS BEFORE POLLS

CHANDIGARH: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)’s attempt to get even with its ally in Punjab, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which refused it alliance in the Haryana assembly elections, and gain a foothold in the state, failed miserably as the party did not secure even a single seat.

The party had fielded three candidates in alliance with its old ally in the state, Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), led by Om Parkash Chautala. Political analysts question the very reason behind the Akalis going against the saffron party in alliance with which they ran government in Punjab on three occasions (1997-2002; 2007-12 and 2012-17) and also plan to come together in the 2022 assembly polls in the state.

The panthic party was claiming that a partnership would be a big boost for the BJP as Haryana has at least 35 seats where Sikhs and Punjabi population plays a decisive role. “Had we contested in alliance with BJP in Haryana, the results would have been different,” said party spokesperson and former Punjab minister Daljit

Singh Cheema.

But the SAD’s preparations to get into an alliance with the BJP for first time in Haryana ended abruptly when its lone MLA from Kalanwali, Balkaur Singh, joined the saffron party three weeks before the polls.

After they were denied alliance, the Akalis came in contact with Dushyant Chautala-led Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) and then forged a partnership with INLD, with which they had snapped ties in 2017 for opposing stands over the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue. Also, in a tit-for-tat move, they inducted Rajinder Singh Desujodha, who had contested the 2014 polls on BJP ticket from Kalanwali, into the party fold and fielded him from same seat.