CHANDIGARH: Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring on Tuesday dubbed the BJP’s decision of going it alone for the state’s
Lok Sabha seats
as a "farce." He maintained that both parties would continue to cooperate with each other.
Warring claimed that even the best efforts of
Sunil Jakhar
,
Sukhbir Badal
, and Captain Amarinder Singh had failed to give the BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal a footing in Punjab, while their statements were a tactical response to public dissent.
He claimed: “I have inputs that Jakhar proposed an
alliance
for 6 to 7 seats, but the two sides couldn’t develop a consensus. Nonetheless, their strong relationship is evident from the continued provision of central security to the Badal family, while our leaders are deprived of the privilege.”
Warring said Jakhar seemed to be “under pressure, for his job is at stake if the BJP fails to secure even a single seat”. He said: “The SAD also acknowledges its slim prospects of winning any seat in Punjab, and since publicising the alliance will complicate matters for both parties, they have decided to conceal it.”
About the situation in Punjab, he claimed that: “People are stopping the BJP leaders from campaigning in their villages, so a strategic concealment of alliance serves both parties. This way the SAD can be vigorous in the rural electoral campaign while helping the BJP consolidate its Hindu vote in Punjab.”
Claiming that the Akalis had collaborated with the BJP even after ending their alliance officially in 2021, the state Congress president said: “It is evident in how the SAD aligned with the BJP from the presidential vote to the passage of the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) bill, and excluded the issue of minimum support price from its recent core committee meeting to appease the central govt.”
He challenged Sukhbir Badal to declare that if his party wins some seats, his MPs will vote against the NDA in Parliament to prove there was no secret alliance.
English (US) ·