The Bharatiya Janata Party will contest the Lok Sabha elections alone in Punjab, the party’s state unit chief Sunil Jakhar said on Tuesday.
“This decision has been taken by the party after speaking to the people, party workers and leaders,” Jakhar said, putting an end to the speculation of a possible alliance between the Hindutva party and the Sikh-centric Shiromani Akali Dal.
“Punjab’s youth, farmers, traders, industrialists, labourers and backward classes will benefit from this decision,” Jakhar added.
Voters in all 13 Lok Sabha constituencies of Punjab will head for polling on June 1. The counting of votes across the country will take place on June 4.
In the 2019 general elections, the Congress had won eight seats in the state. The BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal, fighting in an alliance, had won two seats each. The Aam Aadmi Party had won just one seat.
However, in the 2022 Punjab Assembly polls, the Aam Aadmi Party bagged 92 of the state’s 117 seats. The Congress, which had been in power, won 18. While the Shiromani Akali Dal won three seats, the BJP won two.
The Shiromani Akali Dal had joined hands with the BJP in 1996 but the partnership ended in 2020 on account of differences over the now-scrapped farm laws.
The Sukhbir Singh Badal-led party had hinted at the unlikelihood of an alliance with the BJP on Friday after a meeting of its core committee, The Hindu reported. The party passed a resolution demanding that the Centre release all Sikh prisoners who have served their sentences and fulfil its commitments made to farmers.
“The party will continue to put principles above politics, and it will never deviate from its historic role as a champion of the interests of Khalsa Panth, all minorities, as well as all Punjabis,” the party’s resolution said. “As the sole representatives of the Sikhs and of all Punjabis, the party will continue its fight for more powers and genuine autonomy to the states.”
Congress’ Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu joins BJP
Congress MP from Punjab’s Ludhiana Ravneet Singh Bittu on Tuesday joined the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
Bittu is a three-time MP from Punjab, twice from Ludhiana and once from the Anandpur Sahib constituency.
After joining the Hindutva party in Delhi, Bittu said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have immense love for Punjab.
“They want to do a lot of developmental work for the state,” he said at a press conference in Delhi. “There is a need to bring together farmers, labourers and industries. So why should Punjab be left behind?”
As part of the Congress, Bittu had been a vocal critic of the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab. The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party are part of the Opposition INDIA bloc and have reached seat-sharing agreement for Lok Sabha polls in Delhi, Gujarat and Goa.
However, the two parties have “mutually agreed” not to contest the general elections together in Punjab.
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