Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Monday categorically ruled out any possibility of a BJP-SAD alliance in Punjab, asserting that the party’s “tie-up is with the people of Punjab.”
Speaking to reporters in Chandigarh, Saini said the BJP was confident of forming the next government in the state. Responding to speculation after SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal’s recent meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he remarked, “PM Modi represents 140 crore people of India and can meet anyone. Some people have started celebrating as if time has finally been given, but there is no alliance.”
The BJP and SAD had shared a 23-year alliance, jointly governing Punjab for three terms before parting ways in 2020 over the Centre’s farm laws. Relations soured further during the farmers’ agitation, leading SAD to exit the NDA. Both parties contested the 2022 Assembly elections separately, suffering heavy losses.
With Punjab elections only months away, Saini sharpened his attack on the ruling AAP government. He accused Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s administration of surpassing even the Congress in corruption. Taking a swipe at the Mawan Dhiyan scheme, he alleged that while cash benefits were being distributed to women ahead of polls, widow pensions for the same beneficiaries had been stopped.