NEW DELHI: BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal are in an advanced stage of negotiations for reviving their alliance for the Punjab assembly elections.A couple of thorny issues, including the precise seat-sharing arrangement and the accommodation of the rebel Akali faction, seen close to BJP, continue to persist but several functionaries from the two parties believe they can be addressed in the coming days.Before Sukhbir Singh Badal-led Akali Dal snapped ties with BJP due to its opposition to now-repealed farm laws in 2020 as a section of farmers launched protest against the reforms, his party was the decidedly big brother in Punjab. Its decline since, brought afore by the 2022 assembly and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and BJP’s gains since mean that their equation is likely to be rearranged.Sources said BJP’s share can nearly double from the 23 assembly seats it used to contest in the 117-member House as an ally of SAD.With talks still going on and BJP keen to offer a respectable deal to splinter Akali group (Punar Surjit), the seat-sharing deal remains a work in progress.BJP on its part has maintained it is preparing to contest on all seats after bagging over 18% votes, its best ever, in 2024 when two main rivals for office- governing AAP and the main opposition Congress- pulling around 26% votes. SAD’s share fell to a little over 13%.
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What has boosted the prospect of an alliance is the view that this can be their best shot at power and energise the social compact of Hindu-Sikh harmony, which was an early inspiration for their alliance in the 90s, in the sensitive border state where a newbie party Waris Punjab De of jailed MP Amritpal Singh is peddling a more extreme agenda.Home minister Amit Shah’s recent assertion that NDA will win the next Punjab assembly polls and Badal’s expression of openness to joining hands with parties other AAP and Congress have turned back the focus on the possibility of their alliance.