Chandigarh
The BJP’s public insistence on contesting all 117 Punjab Assembly seats on its own is increasingly colliding with strong signals from the Shiromani Akali Dal that the two former allies could reunite before the 2027 polls. While BJP leaders are openly ruling out an alliance and asking workers to prepare for a full-state contest, reports suggest that back-channel negotiations are at an advanced stage, with the BJP likely to emerge as the senior partner and seek more seats than the SAD. The reported willingness of the Akalis to leave even some rural constituencies — traditionally their strongest ground — to the BJP has added another layer to the unfolding political equation.
The contrasting signals have turned the BJP-SAD relationship into one of the most closely watched political developments in Punjab. For now, the BJP is projecting confidence in its independent strength; the SAD, meanwhile, has stopped short of confirming an alliance but has repeatedly left the door open.
BJP national general secretary (organisation) BL Santosh, during his two-day organisational visit to Punjab, told the party workers to prepare for all 117 constituencies and set the goal of forming the government. At meetings in Patiala, Bathinda, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, and Amritsar, he reviewed ground reports and sought feedback from the organisation.
The message was backed by Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon, who said there was no discussion on an alliance and that the party would field candidates in all 117 seats. BJP leader HS Phoolka also said Santosh had made the position clear.
Santosh’s instructions went beyond electoral arithmetic. He called for stronger booth-level structures, appointment of panna pramukhs, greater field visits by leaders, and a campaign to take the Centre’s schemes directly to households. In Ludhiana, he also stressed that old workers remained the party’s backbone while urging the cadre to accommodate new entrants.
The BJP is simultaneously preparing for an independent political conference at Rakhar Poonia in Baba Bakala — an important Sikh-majority rural belt long associated with the Akalis. The event is expected to be a test of the BJP’s ability to expand beyond its traditional urban and semi-urban base.
SAD Leaves the Door Open
The Akali position has been markedly different. SAD leaders have repeatedly hinted at a possible restoration of the old partnership.
Former Union Minister and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal’s recent remarks about hoping for “such agreements” that could once again bring development to Punjab were widely read as an indication of renewed ties. Her brother Bikram Singh Majithia subsequently backed the sentiment, recalling the earlier Vajpayee-Badal alliance and saying Punjab’s security and border situation made such an arrangement relevant, though the final decision rested with the leadership.
A senior SAD leader, did not wish to be named, also said that the final call would rest with party president Sukhbir Singh Badal, while arguing that an alliance between the SAD and BJP could be the combination capable of defeating the present government.
More significantly, SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema responded to the BJP’s 117-seat assertion without closing the door. His formulation was that every party had the right to prepare independently and that the two sides could consider any “official proposal” if and when it came.
The Real Battle: Who Will Be the Senior Partner?
This is where the reported negotiations acquire significance. According to reports cited in the political discourse, talks are now close to finalisation, with the BJP expected to play the role of a senior-partner and contest a larger share of seats than it did under the previous arrangement, contesting 23 of the total 117 seats. The reported indication that the SAD is willing to ease its insistence on several rural constituencies is particularly significant because those seats have historically formed the Akali party’s core political territory.
The BJP’s 117-seat preparations could, therefore, serve two purposes: genuine organisational expansion and leverage in any eventual seat-sharing negotiations.
The party’s current position also reflects its changed electoral standing. The BJP and SAD contested separately in 2022 and 2024, with both suffering electorally. The SAD won only three Assembly seats in 2022 and one Lok Sabha seat in 2024, while the BJP won two Assembly seats in 2022 and drew a blank in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Yet the BJP’s 2024 vote share rose to about 18.56 percent, compared with the SAD’s 13.42 percent, strengthening its argument for a larger role.
From 1997 Alliance to 2027 Uncertainty
The two parties had been allies since 1997 and together formed governments in 1997, 2007 and 2012. Their 23-year partnership ended in 2020 over the farm laws. Their subsequent solo contests exposed the cost of a divided non-Congress, non-AAP vote.
The political irony today is clear — the BJP says it no longer needs the Akalis and is preparing for all 117 seats, while the SAD’s signals suggest it sees value in restoring the old arrangement. Yet if talks are indeed progressing, the equation is no longer the old BJP-as-junior-partner formula.
For the BJP, the 117-seat campaign strengthens its bargaining position. For the SAD, accepting a larger BJP footprint — including in rural constituencies — could amount to a substantial political compromise.
The question, therefore, may no longer be simply whether the BJP and SAD will reunite. It is increasingly about who will dictate the terms if they do.
