The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will contest all 117 Assembly seats in Punjab on its own and will form its government in the state in the upcoming elections, said party national general secretary BL Santosh on Monday amid buzz over an alliance with Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).
The speculation over a BJP-SAD alliance had intensified after Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi earlier this month. Notably, the SAD and BJP had ended their alliance in 2020 after the Akali Dal withdrew from the BJP-led NDA over the Centre's farm laws.
Addressing the first zonal meeting held in Patiala on the first day of his two-day organisational visit to Punjab, he added that Punjab is fully ready for change, and the BJP is fully prepared to make this change a reality. "Punjab is fully ready for change, and the BJP is fully prepared to make this change a reality. In the upcoming Assembly elections, the BJP will contest all 117 Assembly seats in Punjab and, by securing a victory, will form its government in the state," said Santosh.
BL Santhosh on two-day visit to Punjab
Santosh is on a two-day visit to Punjab to review the party's organisational functioning and to strengthen coordination and preparedness at the grassroots level in the poll-bound state.
During his visit, Santosh will hold a series of zonal meetings with BJP leaders and organisational functionaries across the state, according to a party statement.
On Monday, Santosh chaired meetings at Patiala and Bathinda. The Patiala meeting brought together representatives from Mohali, Patiala North, Patiala Urban, Patiala South, Fatehgarh Sahib and Sangrur, and the Bathinda meeting covered Barnala, Mansa, Bathinda Rural, Bathinda Urban, Muktsar Sahib, Fazilka and Faridkot, according to the statement.
On Tuesday, the BJP's organisational meetings will continue in Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar.
The Ludhiana meeting will be attended by representatives from Ludhiana Rural, Ludhiana Urban, Moga, Jagraon, Khanna, Malerkotla and Ropar. The Jalandhar meeting will bring together leaders from Jalandhar North, Jalandhar Urban, Jalandhar South, Hoshiarpur Urban, Hoshiarpur Rural, Nawanshahr and Kapurthala.
The final zonal meeting will be held in Amritsar, with representatives from Amritsar Urban, Amritsar Rural I and II, Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur, Batala, Pathankot and Ferozepur.
A separate meeting with the BJP’s state general secretaries is also scheduled to be held in Amritsar.
Santosh's visit comes amid dissent within the BJP state unit over a recent organisational reshuffle, which led to dissent from a section of leaders, who accused the state leadership of sidelining the old cadre.
BJP-SAD alliance in the past
Akali Dal and the BJP were long-time allies, but they parted ways in September 2020 amid differences over the three contentious farm laws, which were repealed by the Centre later. They have contested six Lok Sabha (1998, 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014, and 2019) and five Punjab assembly elections (1997, 2002, 2007, 2012, and 2017) together. In the 2022 Punjab elections, which they contested separately, the Akali Dal suffered its worst-ever electoral performance, winning just three seats. The BJP, on the other hand, won just two seats.
In the 2017 Punjab elections, when the two were partners, the Akali Dal won 15 seats, and the BJP bagged three constituencies.
But lately, reports have kept emerging that the parties could rejoin hands again. Speculations were also rife about an alliance between them for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, but it did not materialise. Later, the Akali Dal won just won one seat in Punjab, while the saffron party failed to open its account in the state.
The Punjab Assembly elections are scheduled to be held early next year, alongside elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur. In the 2022 Assembly elections, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) registered a landslide victory, winning 92 of the state's 117 seats, while the Congress was reduced to 18 seats.
(With ANI inputs)
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