Alliance with parties that agree with SAD’s ideology: Badal

Chandigarh: Amid buzz over a potential reunion of SAD-BJP, Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday said the AAP and Congress are the “biggest enemies” of Punjab and his party is open to an alliance with other parties that agree with their ideology and programmes. Badal asserted that peace prevailed in Punjab when the SAD-BJP ran a coalition government.

Assembly polls in Punjab are scheduled to be held early next year. Talking to reporters here, Badal said a Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) delegation met Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria on Friday and discussed how an “incompetent chief minister” has ruined the state and that the law and order situation has completely collapsed.

The Badal-led delegation met the governor over the killing of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa and presented a memorandum with some demands which included the dismissal of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. Speaking to reporters, Badal said, “During the SAD-BJP rule, peace prevailed in Punjab, and the state witnessed development, be it in infrastructure, industry, or state becoming power surplus”.

Due to wrong decisions of the Congress and AAP governments, the situation in Punjab turned bad, he said. “Whether we form the government or not, we will continue to fight for the people of Punjab. In our view, the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party are the two biggest enemies of Punjab, and we can never have an understanding with these parties.

There are many other parties besides these and those who agree with the Akali Dal’s ideology and programmes; we are open (for a tie-up),” he said.

In the 2022 assembly polls, the BJP won two seats, and the SAD could register victories in three assembly segments out of a total 117-member Assembly. Prior to the end of the electoral alliance, both Akalis and BJP used to fight together. Referring to the Jhota murder case, Badal said they presented a memorandum to the governor with four key demands, including dismissal of the chief minister. Badal alleged that drug mafia has political patronage from the ruling AAP.

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