New Delhi: Clearing the air on any possible alliance between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab again, BJP state chief Ashwani Sharma on Saturday said there is no such possibility and the saffron party will contest all elections in Punjab on its own, news agency PTI reported. He further said that tribute paid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP leadership to Shiromani Akali Dal veteran Parkash Singh Badal, who passed away on Tuesday, should not be linked to politics.
In a statement, Ashwani Sharma on Saturday said, "The BJP will contest all the elections on its own and win with a thumping majority. And (it) will not forge an alliance with the SAD at any cost."
Notably, PM Modi had visited the SAD office in Chandigarh to express condolences to the bereaved family following the death of the five-time former Punjab chief minister.
BJP President JP Nadda, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, senior leader Tarun Chugh and other party functionalities also visited Badal's village in Muktsar to pay homage to him on Thursday.
"It was nothing but a tribute to former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal," Sharma said in the statement.
He further said that the BJP is getting huge support from the villages, because of which they are both happy and surprised.
“The BJP will fight the upcoming polls, including the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, alone. The people of Punjab have now understood that the BJP is the only party that can make the state prosperous by maintaining peace and brotherhood,” Sharma said.
It is to be noted that the Shiromani Akali Dal broke off ties with the BJP over the now-repealed farm laws in 2020. It had been part of the National Democratic Alliance since 1997, having stitched up a pre-poll alliance with the saffron party ahead of the assembly elections in Punjab that year.