Delhi elections: BJP’s defeat is curious case of relief for Akalis

JALANDHAR: The BJP’s defeat in the Delhi assembly elections is a blessing in disguise for Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and it will help keep a check on the saffron party’s growing demands in Punjab, said the Panthic party’s leaders, who did not wish to be named, on Tuesday.
Officially, though, SAD blamed the Congress for AAP’s victory in Delhi. Its spokesperson Daljeet Singh Cheema said, “Congress just tried to defeat the BJP, but itself could not secure even a single assembly seat.”
BJP lost all four seats from where SAD had contested on its own symbol or that of the saffron party in 2013 and 2015 assembly polls. On January 20, SAD decided not to contest Delhi elections, citing differences with BJP on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. However, disagreement on seat sharing is said to be actual reason behind its withdrawal from the fray.
After results were announced, SAD leaders, who did not wish to be named as they did not want to irk their alliance partner, said they were relieved that they escaped a humiliating defeat by not contesting the polls as polarisation by BJP had not gone down well among Sikhs, a core constituency of SAD.
BJP’s cold shoulder to SAD in Delhi came at a time when its patriarch Parkash Singh Badal and president Sukhbir Singh Badal had been trying to recover their lost base in the state. Developments in Delhi had also discouraged Akali cadres in Punjab.
Akali leaders said they were happy with the results in Delhi as these would demoralise BJP leaders and cadres, who were clamouring for the party to become a senior partner in the Punjab alliance with SAD. “Had BJP improved significantly in Delhi and had it won any of those seats where SAD was staking claim, it could have justified the demand for more seats in Punjab. However, now, it has lost these seats as well. The defeat in Delhi is humiliating for BJP and it would help keep them in the right place in Punjab too,” a SAD leader said.
Another Akali said despite being SAD’s oldest partner, BJP gave it a jolt by not partnering with it in Delhi. “Left with little choice, Sukhbir had to announce support for BJP without any conditions. Now, their leaders and cadres would not be able to assert themselves, citing Delhi results,” he said. The third SAD leader said the result vindicated the party’s stand on the CAA. In the four seats where SAD had been contesting, a major share of Sikh voters went with AAP this time. From Rajouri Garden, BJP lost by over 22,000 votes. In the bypolls in 2017, SAD leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa had won comfortably from the seats.
In the previous elections, SAD had also been contesting from Shahadara, Hari Nagar and Kalkaji. This time, the party was arguing that it should be given Tilak Nagar, replacing it with any of the latter three seats if it could not be an additional seat. However, BJP did not give any seat to it.
(With inputs from Chandigarh)