Sukhbir Singh Badal’s Parliament House meeting with PM Narendra Modi yesterday has set off fresh talk of a SAD-BJP reunion, putting the old partners squarely in focus ahead of Punjab’s 2027 Assembly clash. Whispers of backchannel talks between SAD and BJP over a pre-poll reunion ahead of Punjab elections 2027 had been swirling for some time, but yesterday’s meeting in full public view is being read as a decisive signal — the alliance now looks less like speculation and more like a sealed deal.
While leaders of both parties are still tight-lipped, on August 4, former Punjab Minister and senior Akali leader Daljit Singh Cheema had told The News Gateway, “We are currently doing our own preparation. They (BJP) are doing theirs. What will happen tomorrow – nobody can predict that.” Those remarks were enough to make it clear — something was undeniably brewing between the two parties.
Meanwhile, it is reliably learnt that AAP leaders throwing their weight behind the student‑led ‘Cockroach Janta Party’ protests at Jantar Mantar a few days ago jolted the BJP into recalibrating its NDA strategy. Within the saffron camp, a growing perception has taken hold — especially after the party fell short of an absolute majority in the last general elections — that the BJP must fortify the NDA and re‑engage with its old allies to secure the road ahead. The Sukhbir‑Modi meeting is being viewed squarely in this context.
The Akali Dal and BJP, once firm allies, split bitterly over the farm laws. Since then, both parties have seen their electoral fortunes nosedive. With Punjab heading to polls early next year, the calculus has shifted — a reunion now looks less like choice and more like necessity. The SAD, reduced to its weakest ever with just one MLA in the 117‑member Assembly, is desperate for revival, while the BJP finds itself hamstrung without enough credible faces to contest across Punjab, particularly in rural strongholds. In blunt terms, if either party hopes to mount a serious fight in the next Assembly elections, they need each other.
Reliable sources within the Akali Dal reveal a hard truth the party has come to accept — without the BJP, a return to power is near impossible. If the two sides do stitch up an alliance again, one major shift is expected: unlike earlier when the BJP contested just 23 of Punjab’s 117 Assembly seats, this time it will no longer play junior partner, with its share likely to double. A significant section of the SAD is already reconciled to this seat‑sharing reality, driven by the desperate need for revival.
Whether the Akali Dal and BJP ultimately formalize a pre‑poll alliance — which many already see as a done deal — will only be confirmed once an official announcement comes. What is beyond doubt, however, is the political weight of this development. If the revived alliance talks bear fruit, the impact will be seismic, reshaping Punjab’s electoral battlefield and directly unsettling both AAP and Congress.
(Views expressed are personal.)