Shiromani Akali Dal Keeps Lion’s Share, Leaves Crumbs To Bharatiya Janata Party

The second biggest national party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), might be making desperate effort to rule the country again, but in Punjab, the minor associate in the ruling alliance has no liberty to field applicants in even small polls.

In the zila parishad and block samiti polls, it has to “hire” applicants from dominant colleague Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). In this part of Punjab’s Malwa area, the Shiromani Akali Dal has marginalized the saffron party to the full or entire extent, leaving it only a few seats in the forthcoming polls on May 19, in even its strongholds in the assembly polls.

In the city of Rajpura (Patiala district), where the Bharatiya Janata Party is contesting since the year 1992 when it made entry in an coalition with the Shiromani Akali Dal in the state, the right wing party has “rented” applicants from the Shiromani Akali Dal in 4 block samiti constituencies. Call it pressure produced by the Shiromani Akali Dal or its own malfunction, in the city, it g 1t just 12 seats to the Shiromani Akali Dal’s 13. Last time, the Shiromani Akali Dal bagged just 9 seats here and the BJP 16.

On block samiti seats Chamaru, Uksi, and Phabri, the Shiromani Akali Dal played a drama on May 08 on the day of removal of nominations and got the BJP applicants blockaded. The saffrons bagged no option but to adopt the SAD candidate as their nominees.

In the zila parishad seats, the SAD has taken two of the three. In Jangpura, the BJP has adopted the SAD candidate, while in Rajpura, the leader managing the affairs, Raj Khurana, claimed everything was okay. “Some issues, but those have been sorted out,” he stated in a short statement on the state.

Out of 167 block samiti seats in the city, the BJP has been left only 18, of which, 12 are in Rajpura. The party’s base in the region has shrunk by not yards but miles. In Sangrur district, which has seven assembly seats, the saffron party has been given only one seat out of 181. In Barnala district, which has three assembly seats, it will not contest.

In Bathinda region, the BJP has been offered just 3 block samiti seats out of over 150, and in Fatehgarh Sahib, not a single seat of block samiti has gone to the BJP. In Mansa, the party battles only three block samiti seats.