Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring on Sunday questioned Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal over his party’s revised stand on delimitation, alleging that the change was driven by his “desperation” to revive an electoral alliance with the BJP ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections. Warring accused Badal of making a “U-turn” on an issue concerning Punjab’s political representation and asked what had changed since April, when the SAD had strongly opposed delimitation and described it as being against the state’s interests.
Warring’s remarks came a day after the SAD demanded that Parliament pass the women’s reservation bill as well as a delimitation bill providing for a uniform 50 per cent increase in seats across states so that the measures could be implemented without further delay. The Akali Dal’s revised position came shortly after Badal met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on Friday, triggering political speculation over a possible rapprochement between the SAD and the BJP. The two former allies parted ways in 2020 amid differences over the Centre’s three farm laws.
Referring to the SAD’s earlier position, Warring said the party had strongly opposed the delimitation proposal in April and described it as contrary to Punjab’s interests. “So, what changed within these three months that you started seeing merit in the same bill that you otherwise found against Punjab’s interests?” Warring asked. Taking a swipe at the SAD chief, the Congress leader remarked that “Sukhbir has turned more loyal than the king within no time”.
The Ludhiana MP alleged that Badal’s changed position was motivated by concerns over his political survival and an attempt to persuade the BJP to revive their alliance before the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections. Warring recalled that when the SAD and BJP failed to reach an understanding ahead of the parliamentary elections, Badal had maintained that his party would not compromise on Punjab’s interests. “Now that you are desperate for your own survival, you have simply forgotten the interests of Punjab for which you claimed to have taken a stand in 2024,” Warring said, accusing the SAD president of “political opportunism”.
Badal’s meeting with Modi has fuelled renewed speculation about a possible reunion between the two parties. The SAD and BJP had shared a long political partnership in Punjab before their alliance collapsed over the contentious farm laws. Warring sought to portray the SAD’s latest position on delimitation as evidence that the party was attempting to rebuild bridges with its former ally. Neither the meeting itself nor the SAD’s changed position, however, establishes that the two parties have reached an agreement on an electoral alliance.
Warring asserted that even if the SAD and BJP joined hands again, the combination would have little impact on their electoral prospects in Punjab. He claimed that voters had “neither forgotten the sacrilege, nor the atrocities on farmers that the two parties are respectively guilty of”. Their coming together would “hardly make any difference to their electoral fortunes”, Warring claimed, adding that it would instead expose what he described as their political opportunism.