For the first time, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has openly spoken about the possibility of a renewed alliance between the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and BJP, triggering fresh political speculation at a time when backchannel discussions between the two former allies are already the subject of intense chatter.
Addressing a ‘Lok Milni’ event at Shamaspur village in Malerkotla district on June 9, Mann launched a sharp attack on the possibility of a SAD-BJP reunion, arguing that any such alliance would be politically opportunistic and detrimental to Punjab.
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“The alliance will not be based on any ideology or concern for public welfare. These parties have no agenda beyond looting Punjab of its resources and exploiting ordinary citizens,” the CM said. “It reflects a desperate bid by both parties to regain political power after being repeatedly rejected by the people of Punjab.”
He further said that a SAD-BJP alliance would prove fatal for both parties because their leaders had spent years attacking each other and “spewing venom”. AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal has for long referred to the BJP as “ED (Enforcement Directorate) party” and the SAD as “beadbi-chitta (sacrilege-drugs) party” to target them and their earlier alliance’s regime between 2007 and 2017.
While BJP and SAD leaders have largely avoided making definitive public statements on a possible alliance, leaders from rival parties have repeatedly raised the issue. But BJP leaders, including Capt Amarinder Singh and former Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar, have on several occasions described an SAD-BJP alliance as an “emotion of the masses”.
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After the appointment of Kewal Singh Dhillon as Punjab BJP president, Amarinder Singh had categorically stated, “The BJP can’t come to power in the state without an alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal.”
However, a senior SAD leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, questioned why the issue was being raised so aggressively by the ruling AAP. “The possibility of alliance talks is coming from the mouth of rival parties and not the parties involved. At the grassroots level, there is a voice that an alliance can boost Punjab politics and bring communal harmony, but AAP never spoke about it in the past… It seems that they are in a panic over whether an alliance happens at all,” the leader said.
Punjab BJP chief Dhillon, however, chose to tread cautiously on the alliance buzz. “We are preparing for all the 117 seats for the 2027 Assembly polls and we will bring back Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s rule yet again,” Dhillon said.
Yet, BJP insiders indicate that the alliance option remains alive. “Though the BJP is preparing for the 2027 polls in Punjab, at the same time, we have not yet closed the doors on an alliance, especially when many senior party leaders themselves advocate for an alliance on many public platforms,” said a BJP source.
Responding to Mann’s remarks, senior SAD leader Daljeet Singh Cheema told The Indian Express, “The AAP should think about its own party rather than bothering about rivals… As of now, the SAD is focusing on its own party and strengthening its organisational structure. We are not thinking of any alliance… We will think about it once any possibility comes before us.. I wonder why Bhagwant Mann and Arvind Kejriwal are so keen in poking into the party affairs of rivals when they themselves have failed on every front.”
But a senior SAD leader, also speaking anonymously, suggested there may indeed be substance behind the speculation. “There is no smoke without a fire. If Kejriwal and Mann are getting upset over the possibility of an alliance, then yes, there is talk of an alliance… But where and when will it materialise, only time will tell.”
Sources point to a curious coincidence. SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal spent three to four days in Delhi last week – around the same period when the BJP’s Dhillon and Capt Amarinder Singh were also in the national capital.
According to SAD insiders, electoral arithmetic is driving the discussion. “The recent urban local body polls and block samiti polls held last December made it clear that the SAD has a strong base in the Malwa region despite being in the Opposition as of now, and the BJP has its strength in urban areas… So an alliance is the only solution or else both will be nowhere in 2027,” said a senior SAD leader.
Former SAD minister Sikander Singh Maluka has publicly advocated for a reunion in the past. “I am a grassroots level leader who works in villages and towns… So when I meet the masses, they talk about an alliance… Hence, I want to say it is people’s voice to have an alliance and I have conveyed this feedback at my party a number of times. The rest is between the leaders of both parties,” Maluka said.
The SAD-BJP alliance dates back to November 1996. Within months, the alliance swept the 1997 Assembly elections, winning 94 of Punjab’s 117 seats. The coalition returned to power again in 2007 and 2012.
The alliance ended in September 2020 after the SAD walked out over the now-repealed farm laws. Although the SAD had initially supported the farm laws, it reversed its position amid growing farmer protests in Punjab.
Since then, both parties have struggled electorally. In the 2022 Assembly elections, the BJP won only two of the 73 seats it contested.
“In 2024, talks had happened for an alliance, but they failed when the SAD was adamant over the old 10:3 seat-sharing formula… Now, the BJP will not settle for the same old formula… Once these modalities are finalised, an alliance can happen only afterwards,” said a BJP leader.
For now, neither the SAD nor the BJP is willing to publicly acknowledge negotiations. Yet the unusual intensity with which rivals are discussing the prospect suggests that the possibility of a reunion between Punjab’s oldest political allies remains very much alive.