Despite exit poll snub, Shiromani Akali Dal buoyant

Jupinderjit Singh

Chandigarh, June 3

Under pressure to regain its lost glory in Punjab, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has tried its best to put up a better show in these elections. The party fought the 2019 Lok Sabha poll in alliance with the BJP and both parties had won two seats each.

Key seats for party

• Bathinda is the most prestigious seat for the party as sitting MP and ‘Badal bahu’ Harsimrat Kaur is seeking re-election from there
• Another key seat for the party is Ferozepur, which has remained the SAD citadel for the past six elections

Going it alone into the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the party had embarked on an aggressive campaign well before the elections by launching the Punjab Bachao Yatra.

Like leaders of other parties, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal has also been claiming that they will win all 13 seats, but the internal assessment puts the number at 5-6 seats.

Bathinda is the most prestigious seat for the party as sitting MP and ‘Badal bahu’ Harsimrat Kaur is seeking re-election from there. The party hopes to benefit from anti-incumbency against AAP in some areas. Another key seat for the party is Ferozepur, which has remained the SAD citadel for the past six elections.

The party fielded Hindu candidates from Amritsar (Anil Joshi) and Patiala (NK Sharma), trying to balance out various factors. It centred its campaign around the release of “Bandi Singhs” and through the SGPC (controlled by the SAD) put up posters and banners asking voters to remember the Operation Bluestar. However, at the same time, it opposed hardliner candidate Amritpal Singh.

Any negative outcome in these elections is likely to put the leadership of party president Sukhbir Singh Badal in question.