Ditched by Badals, BJP may snap ties with SAD after Haryana elections

By Satinder Bains
CHANDIGARH: The BJP seems to have set the ball rolling for snapping ties with Shiromani Akali Dal(SAD) in Punjab owing to alleged "back stabbing" by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his son SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal by extending support to INLD in Hryana assembly elections.

Though BJP leaders and workers in Punjab were facing humiliation for the last over seven years and being mistreated by alliance parftner SAD, the top leadership of BJP was not able to rise to the occassion due to political clout of Parkash Singh Badal. The Haryana elections have given an opportunity to the BJP leaders to vent out their anger against the Akali leadership.The state party leaders except president Kamal Sharma have strong sentiments against SAD. The party has been losing its base in cities due to ehavy taxation. Kamal Sharma however seemed compromised with the SAD causing anger against him in the party.

Amritsar MP Navjot Singh Sidhu who is outspoken on alliance with SAD has triggered attack against Badal's during election campaign in Haryana. He has not only challenged Badal on moral grounds, he also questioned the political commitment of Badal ith the BJP.He alleged that Badal has sold his conscience and back stabbed BJP. He said that Badal was supporting Chautala who is in serving ten year jail term in teacher recruitment scandal.

He said that Badal was claiming to "soul mate" of BJP while in Punjab and he is campaigning against BJP in Haryana solely for his business interests. He said that Badal family have captured all the trades and they have monopoly over transport, liquor, mining and real estate sectors. He said that false cases were registered against BJP workers and other people in the state. He said that those opposed to corrupt practrices of Badals, they were dealt with stick. He also said that Badal has made mockery of alliance.

Sidhu had in fact stayed away from the Amritsar Lok Sabha election under well calculated strartegy to expose Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal and revenue minister Bikram Singh Majithia who were boasting to win the election on development agenda. The core issue in ther Amritsar election was however not the development. It was Sidhu versus Majithia who used all means to sideline Sidhu and blocked projects started by him. Sidhu had blamed Sukhbir Badal and Majithia for blocking development of Amritsar. He also approached Chief Minister but failed to get justice. It was in this background that Sidhu stayed awsay from Amritsar and Arun Jaitely senior party leader lost the election. It was considered big blow for Badal and Majithia and also a turning point in the relations between SAD and BJP.

It is understood that Sidhu would not speak against Badal family without the approval of BJP top leadership. He said that he was briefing the party high command on all issues concerning Punjab and everything is in their knowledge. Sidhu is considered close to Prime Minister Narender Modi and it is possible Sidhu is given larger responsibility in Punjab to revive the political base of aprty in the state.

Beside him Sukhminder Singh Grewal another party leader who is national general secretary of Kisan cell of BJP has also joined the issue. He had blamed Badal family for the all the ills in Punjab and making attgmepts to marginalise BJP base in the border state. He accused Badal of shieldig the corrupt and using his position to capture all business in the state. He said that SAD could not form government without BJP.He has rejected the claims by Badal that he had family ties with Chautalas. He said that Badal and Chautala are two sides of samed coin and both have common agenda to loot people.

Badal over the long period of enjoying power has mastered the art of befooling the people and taking the alliance partners for a ride by using his political status. He had made the Punjab BJP leaders helpless due to his close proximity with L.K.Advani and Atal Behari Vajpayee. It seems evident that Modi is in no mood to give free hand to Badal as BJP is also seen as culprit alongwith SAD for drug menace in Punjab. He may take harsh steps to get out of mess created by SAD.