CHANDIGARH: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Thursday fuelled speculation about a possible rapprochement with the BJP, referring to the need for political “agreements” with Delhi to bring development and progress to Punjab.
Addressing a party conference at Longowal to mark the 41st death anniversary of former SAD president Sant Harchand Singh Longowal, Harsimrat suggested that she was deliberately holding back from revealing details about the party's future political course.
“May Guru Sahib bless. It is not my duty to speak, so I am holding back my tongue. You will come to know yourself,” she said.
She later spoke of the need for political arrangements with the Centre, recalling what she described as the development Punjab had received through such agreements in the past.
“May Guru Sahib bless us and may the people give us strength. There should be such agreements through which development and progress are carried out from Delhi, as used to happen earlier. Once again, the foundation of development and progress should be laid in Punjab, so that it benefits the people and Punjab,” she said.
Although Harsimrat did not name the BJP or announce any alliance, her remarks have revived speculation about a possible reconciliation between the two former allies. The speculation intensified after SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, Harsimrat's husband, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The SAD had subsequently said the meeting focused on issues concerning Punjab.
The SAD and BJP had been long-standing allies before their ties broke down in 2020 over the Centre's farm laws. The two parties contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections separately.
Harsimrat, meanwhile, attacked the ruling Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab, accusing it of running the state through “remote control” from Delhi.
“Punjab is for Punjabis,” she said, adding that restoring peace and communal harmony, tackling gangsterism and eliminating drugs would be among the SAD's priorities if it returned to power.
She appealed to people to reject what she called “divisive forces” that were “looting the state” and damaging the future of Punjab's youth.
Referring to the recent attack on Sukhbir Badal in Nanded, Maharashtra, Harsimrat said her husband would not be intimidated by those responsible.
She questioned why Sukhbir had been attacked at a gurdwara and alleged that those behind the incidents were acting as “stooges of governments”.
Harsimrat said the SAD had consistently prioritised peace, communal harmony and Punjab's development, alleging that its opponents were attempting to weaken the party by encouraging fringe elements.
SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia also targeted the AAP government, alleging that drugs and gangsterism had not been eliminated and that corruption and law-and-order problems continued under the Bhagwant Mann government.
He further alleged that the state government had failed to provide adequate support to government employees and farmers.
