in-bold-move-sad-openly-supports-aap-in-punjab-bypolls

In a major, rather bold, policy shift, the Shiromani Akali Dal-Badal has announced support for the ruling Aam Aadmi Party in at least two of the four assembly by-elections. 

 

This may lead to a fresh realignment of political parties in Punjab in the coming time, ahead of the 2022 assembly elections. 

 

The Akali leaders went on record announcing support for the AAP candidates in Gidderbaha and the Dera Baba Nanak assembly segments. 

 

Since there was neither any clarification nor any denial from the senior Akali leadership, including the acting president Balwinder Singh Bhunder, it is quite obvious that the cadres have been “asked” to vote for the AAP candidates.

 

Sukhbir Singh Badal resigning from the presidency of the party and the local/constituency level party leaders going public about their support for the AAP candidates cannot be a mere coincidence.

 

Badal’s resignation appears to be tactfully timed, to avoid any questioning about his party’s support to the AAP.

 

So far, the Akalis and the AAP have been daggers drawn at each other. So was the AAP with the Congress and it still went for an alliance with the party during the parliamentary elections in Delhi, Haryana and Gujarat. If the AAP could go along with the Congress, it can always go along with any party, including the SAD. 

 

Like the AAP and Akali leaders have been fiercely critical of each other in Punjab, so have the Congress and the AAP leaders both at the state as well as the national level. The past hostility did not come in between their alliance during the parliamentary elections, although it did not benefit any of the two parties in any way. 

 

Initially, it was believed that the Akalis would support the BJP in the hope and possibility of a future re-alliance during the 2027 assembly elections. 

 

Moreover, three of the four BJP candidates fighting the by-election are former Akali leaders and have been Akali MLAs or have contested as Akali candidates. Sukhbir was understood to have asked his cadres in the Gidderbaha assembly segment to vote for his cousin Manpreet Badal, who is fighting on the BJP ticket. 

 

But, the Akalis announced their support for the AAP candidates in a not-so-subtle, rather clear manner. Former Akali MLA from Gidderbaha, Raghubir Singh Pradhan went on record saying that he is with the Akali Dal and since the party did not field any candidate from here, he along with other Akali voters will support the AAP candidate Hardeep Singh ‘Dimpy’ Dhillon. 

 

In Dera Baba Nanak also, the Akalis have “officially” announced support for the AAP candidate Gurdeep Singh Randhawa. Sukhjinder Singh Langah, son of a prominent Akali leader, Sucha Singh Langah, said on record that the Akali Dal had constituted a 31-member committee to decide whom to support.

 

He claimed the committee reached a unanimous decision to support the AAP candidate. 

 

In both the constituencies, Gidderbaha and the Dera Baba Nanak, Akali Dal has a strong footing.

 

In both the constituencies, in the 2022 assembly elections, despite the AAP tsunami, the Akali candidates lost by just a few hundred votes.

 

While in Gidderbaha, Dimpy, who is now the AAP candidate, lost to Raja Warring by 1349 votes, in Dera Baba Nanak, Ravi Karan Kahlon who was contesting as an Akali candidate in 2022 and is now the BJP candidate, lost to Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa by 466 votes only. 

 

That time, the AAP candidates in both constituencies finished third. 

 

There are multiple factors for the Akali Dal’s “open” support to the AAP in these two important constituencies of Gidderbaha and Dera Baba Nanak.

 

First, the Akalis have started a new experience and availed an “additional option”, other than the BJP and the BSP, in the AAP. If the party can support the AAP in by-elections, the two parties can always consider, if the occasion demands, going for more alliances in future. 

 

Second, in both constituencies, the Akalis will do everything to get the Congress candidates defeated.

 

In Gidderbaha, Congress has fielded Amrita Warring, wife of the PCC president Raja Warring, while from Dera Baba Nanak, the party has fielded Jatinder Kaur Randhawa, wife of former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa. 

 

Both Raja Warring and Sukhjinder Randhawa are fierce critics and opponents of the Shiromani Akali Dal, which can do anything and everything to ensure the defeat of these two leaders, albeit by getting their spouses defeated. Even if the Akali leadership had wanted to support the BJP candidates, the party was not confident whether the BJP candidates could defeat the Congress stalwarts in their stronghold home turfs, while the AAP with Akali support got it done.

 

 Moreover, the AAP Gidderbaha candidate was the Akali Dal constituency in charge till four months ago.

Akalis silent over remaining two constituencies

 

Akali Dal has maintained silence over two other constituencies going for by-elections, Barnala and Chabbewal. In Barnala, the BJP has fielded Kewal Dhillon, who joined the party after resigning from the Congress.

Dhillon enjoys good relations with the Akali leadership also and has an old association with the Badal family. That appears to be the reason that the Akalis have not announced clear support for anyone in Barnala.

 

In Chabbewal, the BJP candidate Sohan Singh Thandal is a former Akali MLA, who has served as a minister also. He claimed that he was getting Akali support, which was denied by the party (Akali Dal). 

 

That makes it more obvious that the senior party leadership issued a denial about supporting Thandal in Chabbewal, but remained silent when local-level leaders announced publicly that they were supporting the AAP. 

 

Whatever the factors and reasons that led the Akalis to “openly” support the AAP candidates, it has certainly opened another door for the beleaguered party for a possible future alliance. 

An AAP-Akali alliance in future can very much be possible, as it is rightly said, politics is the art of possible. 

Last, but not the least, it will also be a subtle yet strong message to the BJP that Akali Dal does not have any dearth of allies.