The unbreakable relationship between the BJP and its oldest ally Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) finally broke down. This led to the issue of farmers (Agriculture Bill 2020). The separation of the Akali Dal is a major setback for the BJP, as the two main parties Shiv Sena and Akali Dal, among its most trusted allies, have split.
New Delhi / Chandigarh. The Shiromani Akali Dal, which is angry over the Kisan Bill (Agriculture Bill 2020), has broken its 24-year-old relationship with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). After this decision of Shiromani Akali Dal, it will be the biggest challenge for the Bharatiya Janata Party to manage its image in an agrarian state like Punjab. After the separation of the Akali Dal, if the BJP improves the situation by negotiating the demands of the farmers who are protesting in agrarian states, then the BJP can control the impact of the Akali Dal's separation to a great extent.
The resentment between the Shiromani Akali Dal and the BJP was openly exposed when Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal had already resigned from the Union Cabinet in protest against the Farmers Bill (Farms Bill 2020). The relationship between Shiromani Akali Dal and BJP was very cordial. The two parties together formed the government in Punjab three times. Each completed a five-year term. The SAD-BJP alliance in Punjab was formed in 1997 and the Akali Dal became part of the NDA about 22 years ago.
Taking care of the Khalistan movement, the center will have to overcome the anger of the farmers
Given the history of the Khalistan Movement of the 1980s, the Center will have to take initiative as soon as possible to stop the anger of the farmers. Punjab is equally important for national security as well as for the food security of the country. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance can achieve this dual goal.
Akali Dal freed from NDA in search of its lost glory?
The Shiromani Akali Dal is freed from the NDA in search of its lost glory as a party of struggle and movement. The Akali Dal also witnessed the period when Master Tara Singh, Sant Fateh Singh and Giani Kartar Singh (led by Punjabi Suba), Gurcharan Singh Tohra, JS Talwandi, HS Langowal, and a very small team equaled the big leaders. Were challenging The Akali Dal's top leadership also ran an arrest campaign for 19 months in protest against Indira Gandhi's imposed emergency during 1975-77. This was also a part of the Akali Dal's protest and resentment.
It is not just the agricultural bill that causes the Akali Dal's displeasure
The Shiromani Akali Dal's displeasure with the BJP is not just on the issue of farmers, it has long resented the neglect of the central government. If we look at the political developments of the last one or two years, there are about half a dozen occasions when the Akali Dal did not get the expected support from its big ally. The Akali Dal was forced to take a decisive decision to separate from the NDA due to the existing laws related to farmers.
Objection to not making Punjabi the language of Kashmir
In the same month, the Central Government included Kashmiri, Dogri, and Hindi in the official languages of Kashmir. The Akali Dal wanted Punjabi to be included in it as there are Punjabi speaking people in Kashmir and this has been the old language of the state. Badal also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah on this issue, but the hearing was not held. It was a small matter and a reasonable thing, but the government did not agree. The third reason for resentment is the Akali Dal's only MLA joining the BJP in Haryana. The Akali Dal had said that the BJP violated the dignity of the alliance.
Badal not advised
During the Lok Sabha elections, the Akali Dal wanted the BJP to give Amritsar and Hoshiarpur seats and take Ludhiana-Jalandhar in return. But, the BJP flatly refused. The Akali Dal also complains that the biggest farmer leader in the country is Parkash Singh Badal, but his advice was never taken on the issue of farmers. In such a situation, the Akali Dal got a chance to break away from the NDA and get back its lost land on the pretext of opposition to the agricultural bills. However, to show himself as the sole protector of Sikhs, the Akali Dal's historical parochialism can divide on communal grounds, essentially a peasant movement for economic rights.
Badal and Chautala can increase friendship in Haryana again
After the break-up of the alliance with the BJP, now the Akali Dal has the option to openly play in Haryana or challenge the BJP-JJP alliance and the Congress by joining its head with its old partner INLD. Family relations of former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala and former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal are not hidden from anyone. The political steps of the two families have been different on different occasions, but family relationships have never soured. When the INLD was torn apart and the Jananayak Janata Party was born, Badal tried a lot to save the family from breaking up, but his efforts failed. The result of not being able to make ends meet with these efforts is that INLD and JJP are now showing strength in the field of politics on different issues. It remains to be seen how the BJP can manage or manage these conditions.