After a niche of virtually 25 years, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) formally stitched an alliance in Punjab on Saturday with an eye fixed on an enormous Dalit vote financial institution in the state forward of the upcoming meeting elections.
Dalits account for nearly 31 per cent of voters in Punjab and play an vital function in figuring out the fortunes of political events.
The announcement of the alliance was made in a joint press convention by SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and BSP chief Satish Mishra on Saturday. The two events had contested in the 1996 Lok Sabha polls with the alliance bagging 11 out of the 13 seats.
Badal stated that as per the alliance, the BSP will contest 20 meeting seats whereas the remaining will go to the SAD. In the Doaba area, which has a significant chunk of the 31 per cent Dalit votes, the BSP will contest eight seats. The get together may also put up its candidates on seven seats in Malwa and 5 in the Majha area. The meeting segments which were allotted to BSP are Kartarpur Sahib, Jalandhar-West, Jalandhar -North, Phagwara, Hoshiarpur, Tanda, Dasuya, Chamkaur Sahib, Bassi Pathana, Mehal Kalan, Nawanshahar, Ludhiana North, Sujjanpur, Boha, Pathankot, Anandpur Sahib, Mohali, Amritsar central and north and Payal.
“Both the events have been capable of sew an alliance as a result of each events might take into consideration the upliftment of poor and the farmers. Both these events will combat for the rights of the poor and the uncared for,” said Badal. Echoing the same sentiments, Satish Mishra said the alliance is a partnership of farmers and Dalits, both of whom are suffering at the hands of present governments in Punjab and Centre.
Sources said that the SAD had forged this strategic alliance in the context of the ongoing farmers stir. Analyst say that though the SAD had broken off from the BJP after the contentious farm laws were passed by the Lok Sabha, it had failed to rub off the perception that it had done little to stop the passage of the bills. This was evident during the civic body polls that took place just after the laws were passed in which the Akali dal could not manage to do well.
“The farmers could still be upset over the farm laws. So the party thinks it can work on caste lines and hence a tie-up with a party which has historically done well in Dalit dominated pockets in the state. A reason why the SAD has given eight out of the 23 seats in the Daoaba region to the alliance partner,” stated a celebration insider.
The improvement comes at a time when all of the political events together with the Congress are attempting to woo the Dalit voters in the state. The Congress can be believed to be toying with the concept of getting both a Dalit deputy chief minister or a celebration chief from the neighborhood.
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