Punjab: BJP keeps alliance door open as Ashwani Sekhri roots for strong Akali Dal

Senior Punjab BJP leader Ashwani Sekhri on Sunday said people wanted his party to form the next government in the state in “alliance with a regional party”.

Sekhri, who is also the chief media coordinator for the state BJP, did not specify which regional party he was referring to.

However, answering a query, he said being a Punjabi, he wanted the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) to be strong in Punjab.

The BJP had been an alliance partner of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab in the past.

Their decades-long partnership came to an end in 2020, when the SAD exited the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) over the now-withdrawn three contentious farm laws that were introduced by the BJP-led Centre.

Sekhri’s statement has come a day after veteran Akali leader Balwinder Singh Bhunder said his party could rethink about an alliance with the BJP only if it resolved issues concerning Punjab.

State BJP chief Sunil Jakahr too had recently said all Akali factions should bury their differences and unite as a strong Panthic party was needed to keep “radicals at bay”.

Sekhri also claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had great love and vision for Punjab and only he could save the state from clutches of mounting debt, drug abuse and unemployment.

“The people of Punjab want the BJP to form the next government in 2027 in alliance with a regional party,” he said at a party programme here.

He also appreciated achievements of the Modi-led governments at the Centre in the past 11 years.

Sekhri slammed Punjab’s Aam Aadmi Party government for “failing to implement” central plans.