Both baking ‘khichdi’ independently – fissure between the alliances is clearly visible

Anyone going through the headlines statements by the alliance leaders in Punjab of SAD and BJP, could sense or guess the future of the alliance which is widening day by day.
The headlines are – Akali BJP alliance in danger in Punjab, Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP tiffs in Haryana unlikely to affect alliance elsewhere, , Akali-BJP alliance rock solid: Majithia, Akali-BJP alliance intact, Jaitley assures Bada, BJP to contest local Punjab election on its own, BJP preparing to go it alone in 2017, hints Katheria, SAD unperturbed, may turn to old ally BSP, Civil polls acid test for SAD-BJP ties, discontent brewing in SAD-BJP alliance in Punjab……

Both Akali & BJP alliance parties in Punjab in their independent statements claim to contest the coming Assembly elections – even Municipal Elections – on its own in Punjab if it encounters a situation similar to that if faced in Haryana.

Take the example of Municipal elections due next month in 122 municipal councils and six municipal corporations in Punjab, the BJP workers have openly decided to contest independently in all the 23 wards on the plea that BJP men are being implicated in false cases and the people are scared of the situation. It will be seen as a litmus test in view of the strained relations of BJP-SAD in the state.

More-over, Akali are always keeping upper hand over BJP in Punjab, it may be allotment of tickets, distribution of posts to the leaders, portfolios to the elected MLAs and above all keeping the post of Deputy CM with itself.
No doubt, Arun Jaitely, Union Minister who lost from Amritsar in Punjab is claiming that the alliance is on a firm footing and both the parties will jointly contest Delhi and Punjab Assembly polls but from the statements which has come from the recently statement given the charge of BJP’s Punjab affairs, Agra MP JP Ram Shankar Katheria who replaced Shanta Kumar, hinting at the party’s plan to consolidate its base in the state to fight the 2017 Assembly elections, clearly speaks of the baking of ‘khichdi’ in the covered pan individually.

In the present scenario, both the parties have to come out with new strategies to allure its leaders and voters as well. While the ruling party could take major decisions by giving more powers to the ministers and funds to maintain their vote bank in the rural areas apart from announcing new schemes for the common man.

While SAD has to make its strong hold in the cities where it is lacking its vote bank, the BJP has to concentrate on villages.

The process of giving the status in small committees at the district level with involvement of each other’s members in the candidate selection is already going on.
Frankly speaking, despite tall claims by the parties – SAD & BJP – both are internally perturbed over keeping the alliance or taking a risk of divorce before the coming Assembly elections. There are also indications that Akali leaders could turn to its old ally Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) which has its hold in certain parts of Punjab of Dalit having 32 per cent votes. Akali-BJP had fought the 1996 Lok Sabha elections jointly.

Now the only question in the political circles of Punjab as to how far is intact the BJP-SAD alliance in Punjab? Like, everything is fair in love and war; it is difficult to predict in the world of politics for win- ability criteria. But one thing is certain; the fissure – a line of breakage made by cracking or splitting – between the alliances is clearly visible.