'Lost Its Credibility Among Punjab Voters': Hardeep Puri Rules Out Alliance With SAD For 2024 Election

Puri cited the recent Jalandhar byelection results, where SAD came third, to claim that the party had lost its credibility among voters in Punjab.

Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri

Source : PTI

Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday ruled out any possibility of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) reviving its alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) for the Lok Sabha polls scheduled to take place next year.

While speaking to reporters in Punjab's Kapurthala on the sidelines of the 'Rozgar Mela' event at Rail Coach Factory (RCF), Puri said SAD had lost its credibility among voters in Punjab and cited the recent Jalandhar byelection results.

Akali Dal was placed third behind the victorious Aam Aami Party (AAP) and runners-up Congress. The Sukhbir Singh Badal-led party bagged 1,58,445 votes.

"The BJP remained in alliance with SAD for 25 years earlier but the SAD failed to come up to the expectations of the people of Punjab," PTI quoted Puri as saying.

However, he said that if "some good leaders from SAD or those who had in recent times left the Akali Dal want to join the BJP and fight on the saffron party symbol then that is a different thing".

Earlier, BJP's Punjab affairs in-charge Vijay Rupani also said there was no possibility of an alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal again in the state.

The Shiromani Akai Da snapped its alliance with the BJP in 2020 over the now-repealed farm laws, which led to widespread farmers’ protests across the country.

Meanwhile, Puri also hit out at the ruling Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab, saying that "freebies" would not help the state boost its economy as it was reeling under heavy debt.

He also spoke on the recent debacle faced by the BJP in the Assembly election in Karnataka.

Puri said the party lost the polls due to "some other reasons and would introspect" them and rectify its mistakes. He also noted that the party's vote share has not come down from 36 per cent in Karnataka.