Talks with Akalis fail, BJP to fight all 13 LS seats in Punjab, Bittu joined the saffron party

Talks with Akalis fail, BJP to fight all 13 LS seats in Punjab, Bittu joined the saffron party

New Delhi: After days of parleys with the Shiromani Akali Dal, the BJP on Tuesday announced its decision to go it alone in the June 1 Punjab Lok Sabha elections. This marks the end of the road for the BJP-SAD combine that has contested all parliamentary polls since 1998 together. In 1998, they had swept Punjab with 11 of the state’s 13 seats. In 2019, the performance had been dismal — two seats each for the BJP and the Akali Dal.

Last week, the BJD-BJP pre-poll talks in Odisha also failed over lack of consensus on sharing of seats for the Assembly elections.

Hours after BJP Punjab president Sunil Jakhar today announced the party’s decision to contest all 13 Punjab seats independently, three-term Congress MP from the state Ravneet Singh Bittu joined the saffron party in New Delhi, in a massive boost to the saffron ranks and a setback for the Congress.

Bittu (48), grandson of late Punjab Chief Minister and Congress veteran Beant Singh, is likely to contest from Ludhiana, which he represents in the outgoing Lok Sabha. Bittu was first elected to the LS from Anandpur Sahib in 2009 and from Ludhiana in 2014 and 2019.

“I had been in talks with the BJP for long. Even as a Congress MP when I raised Punjab issues with top BJP leaders, they never said no. I have joined the BJP to serve as a bridge between the Centre and the state, and bring development to Punjab, which has fallen way behind other states. The next government at the Centre will also be that of PM Narendra Modi,” Bittu said, adding that the BJP alone was in a position to guarantee a safe, secure and developed Punjab.

The former Congress leader joined in the presence of BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde with The Tribune learning that more prominent Congress leaders could follow Bittu to the BJP.

Earlier, Jakhar, explaining the party’s position on alliance talks with the Akali Dal, said, “We took this decision after wide consultations with people, party leaders and workers. The decision is aimed at a bright future for Punjab’s youth, farmers, traders and the Backward Classes. The works done

for Punjab under PM Modi’s leadership are evident. In the past 10 years, every grain produced by Punjab farmers has been procured on fair MSP, which has been sent directly to the bank accounts of farmers within a week.”

He said the centuries-old unrealised dream of Sikhs to visit the Kartarpur shrine across the border became possible with the opening of the Kartarpur corridor under PM Modi’s leadership.

“The decision to go it alone has been taken in the interests of a safe and secure border state of Punjab. We are sure people will support the BJP in the June 1 elections,” said Jakhar.

The Tribune has learnt that the alliance talks primarily failed due to disagreement on the number of seats the BJP and the SAD would contest.

The BJP demanded not less than six of the 13 seats. The Akali Dal was comfortable giving four, and was also insistent on the Bandi Singh issue which, the BJP felt, already stood resolved.

The BJP has traditionally contested Amritsar, Hoshiarpur and Gurdaspur in alliance with the SAD and was seeking three additional seats — Patiala, Anandpur Sahib and Ludhiana. Akalis, however, offered seats where the BJP had never even contested an Assembly segment, a source said.

“Caustic public statements by some Akali leaders did not help either,” said a senior BJP leader, adding that the BJP was ready for a long haul in Punjab, just as it was in West Bengal where it rose from two Lok Sabha seats in 2014 to 18 in 2019.

The saffron organisation has been concerned about its consistently declining poll performance in the state where it remained in alliance with the SAD from 1997 to 2020 when Akalis quit the ruling NDA dispensation protesting the three farm laws which were later withdrawn. The BJP and the SAD fought the 2022 state poll alone and suffered badly. Prior to 2022, the BJP, in alliance with the SAD, contested 23 of the state’s 117 seats. Of late, its performance has left much to be desired.