CHANDIGARH: The Akali Dal has decided not to contest the Delhi assembly elections citing differences with the BJP on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Akali Dal MLA and Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DGMC) President Manjinder Singh Sirsa said, "It is up to the BJP if it wants to take along the minorities. Our stand is clear on NRC -- it should not be implemented. Also, our stand on CAA was made clear to the saffron party. We welcome CAA but no community can be excluded on religious lines. Muslims should be included in the list of
refugees."
"We welcome the Sikhs and Hindus who come from Pakistan and are given citizenship. We are not against them. In three meetings with BJP leaders, we had no discussions on seat sharing or symbols. Our discussion was on our stand on the CAA and NRC. We made it clear that we will not change our stand," he said.
"We will not contest these elections at any cost as we cannot compromise our core values," he added.
With the last day for filing nominations nearing, the BJP will not have any alliance with either its oldest ally, the Akali Dal, or the newest one, the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP).
Sources said there were also other reasons for talks over the seat-sharing arrangement between the BJP and the Akalis breaking down. The Akalis had contested four seats (Rajouri Garden, Hari Nagar, Shahadra and Kalkaji) in the 2015 polls in the national capital -- two on their own symbol and rest on the BJP’s symbol.
But this time besides these four seats, they also want to contest in Rajinder Nagar, Moti Nagar, Tilak Nagar and Rohtas Nagar as they have 15 to 35 per cent Sikh voters. However, the BJP was insistent on giving them three seats this time.
Also, there were differences over the symbol as the saffron party wanted Akali Dal candidates to contest on the lotus symbol but the SAD resisted the move.
The talks broke down as there was no consensus between the three-member committee of SAD comprising of Rajya Sabha MPs Naresh Gujaral and Balwinder Singh Bhunder and former Lok Sabha MP Prem Singh Chandumajra and the three-member team of the BJP led by Union Minister Prakash Javdekar which also included national vice president Shyam Jaju and national secretary Tarun Chugh.
The party president Sukhbir Singh Badal had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in this regard. This could have an effect in the 2022 Punjab assembly elections also, said sources.
Meanwhile, the JJP wanted to contest on 18 seats in the national capital as it claimed it is strong on outer Delhi seats. It wanted an alliance with the BJP in Delhi as it did in Haryana, but was also ready to fight solo if there was no tie-up with the saffron party. The party had formed a five-member committee in this regard which was considering all the facts and a possibility of an alliance.