Akalis & BSP stitch alliance for Assembly polls in Punjab

Chandigarh, June 12: The Shiromani Akali Dal and the Bahujan Samaj Party formed an alliance on Saturday for the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections, coming together after a gap of 25 years.

Under the tie-up, the BSP will fight 20 of the 117 Assembly seats while the rest will be contested by the SAD, said Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal while announcing the alliance here.

The SAD-BSP alliance had contested the 1996 Lok Sabha polls together and won 11 out of 13 seats in Punjab. While three seats were won by the BSP and the rest were won by the SAD. BSP chief Mayawati dubbed the alliance between the SAD and her party as a “new political and social initiative” which will usher in progress and prosperity in Punjab. Punjab has 31.94 per cent Dalit population.