National

No Powder Burns

The BJP patches up with the Badals with an eye on Sikh votes in Delhi

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No Powder Burns
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Buried Hatchets

  • Delhi victory crucial for Narendra Modi’s personal image
  • Delhi state unit and Kiran Bedi lagging behind Kejriwal
  • SAD has substantial influence on the 10 lakh Sikh voters in Delhi
  • The BJP can’t afford another blow so soon after a so-so performance in J&K

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After months of bitter bickering, on the eve of Republic Day, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) finally decided to stitch up the tears in its saffron umbrella in Punjab. As the home ministry dialled Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patron and Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal to announce its decision to confer the Padma Vibhushan on the veteran politician, BJP leaders in Delhi heaved a sigh of relief. After all, the brewing tension in the BJP-SAD relationship in the recent past had been a cause for worry. Not just for the political balance in Punjab, but for the ripple effect it would have on the BJP’s prospects in neighbouring states. A senior BJP leader in Delhi told Outlook, “Of course Badalsaab is deserving of the award. But there’s no denying it was also the need of the hour.” He added that “by all standards, the alliance had been pushed to the brink and it’s not exactly what we can afford right now”.

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So a feel-good gesture at the highest level was required. Party sources confi­rmed that the impending Delhi polls had forced the BJP leadership into a huddle to look for a quick-fix to the Punjab problem. A senior BJP leader looking after the party’s affairs in Punjab says “sorting out the Punjab alliance situation was an urgency. After the deadlock in Jammu and Kashmir, it is imperative that we form a government in Delhi. And internal surveys on that account are a tad worrying.” He further added that “we need to have the SAD partnership going even for Delhi. It is crucial. Jisey aap eenaam banaam samarthan keh rahi hain woh asal mein rajanitik soojh boojh hai (what you are calling reward for support is actually a political move.)”   

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Clearly, the BJP needs this Delhi vict­ory. Already the state unit has seen unrest from party workers over Kiran Bedi being projected as CM candidate. Even the RSS karyakartas working on the ground for the Bedi campaign conc­ede that the fight is tough this time aro­und. As one of them put it, “Kiranji did not get enough time to establish herself as the CM candidate. We are trying our best to reach out to as many people as we can. But nothing about who will win can be confirmed as of yet.”

With a crunch situation at hand, the SAD’s support then becomes a bit of a necessity. Evidently, the whopping 10 lakh Sikh votes in Delhi will work as a clinching force this election season in the capital. Over 600 Singh Sabhas affi­liated with the Delhi Sikh Gurud­w­ara management committee are directly influenced by the SAD and capable of influencing Sikh votes in the capital.  Of the 70 constituencies in Delhi, most report a sizeable chunk of Sikh voters and at least 15 are dominated by Sikhs. 

The Padma Vibhushan, incidentally, is just one of the many steps the BJP has taken in the last few weeks to mend fences. A little over two weeks back, internally, the BJP’s thinking hats began a serious reassessment of the Punjab crisis. With less than a month go for the Delhi polls, it was decided that a belligerent stand against the SAD in Punjab would “affect the BJP adversely in Delhi”.

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Parkash Singh Badal. (Photograph by Prabhjot Singh Gill)

A high-level meeting between Akali and BJP leaders further ensured that the state units of both parties would refrain from attacking each other. Sources confirm that the meetings resulted in the cancellation of BJP president Amit Shah’s much touted anti-drugs rally in Amritsar on January 22. A BJP leader confirmed that “instead, the party decided to reach out to the Akalis”. So, Shah’s trip to Punjab was replaced by Nitin Gadkari’s. So on the same day when Shah was supposed to take on the Akalis over the drug menace in Punjab, Gadkari as Union minister for road transport arrived in Bathinda to make a joint appearance with Punjab’s deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal. And he didn’t just carry bonhomie messages from the central leadership, but also a slew of infrastructural projects, altogether worth Rs 18,000 crore.

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Not just that, a little before Gadkari’s goodwill visit, the Enforcement Direct­o­rate (ED) transferred out Niranjan Singh, its main investigator in Punjab. Niranjan, who was investigating the Rs 6,000 crore drug-money laundering case in the state, had questioned Punjab revenue minister Vikram Singh Majithia on December 26 as part of the investigations. While Maji­thia’s questioning meant a direct attack on the Badals (he’s Sukhbir’s brother-in-law), the Opposition has been calling Nir­anjan’s transfer as a favour from Union finance minister Arun Jaitley (the ED reports to the fina­nce minister). Incidentally, during the 2014 general elections, Majithia had managed Jaitley’s constituency, Amritsar. Majithia’s questioning earlier may have been a decisive blow but relations between the two parties had started souring a year ago with junior leaders indulging in diatribes. The BJP’s stellar performance in Haryana, where it contested minus the SAD, only added fuel to the simmering fire. 

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With the alliance on the brink, the Badals too were on the edge. In a huff, Sukhbir Badal had held his own protest rallies against the Centre for failing to control the drug menace. Badal Jr was putting the blame squarely on the BJP-run states of Rajasthan, Goa and MP.

The BJP and SAD had hit rough weather after the LS alliance saw a poor performance in Punjab. Quietly, the BJP had attributed the loss to the SAD, even building up a case against its alliance partner for the drug menace in the state. No wonder, speculation was rife that the BJP wanted to break ties with the SAD and contest the impending 2017 assembly elections in the state on its own.

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Sources confirm that buoyed by its success in Haryana, BJP leaders in Punjab had secretly started work on increasing the saffron party’s footprint the state. The task was given to RSS-aff­iliated organisation Dharam Jagran Manch, which was busy conducting several ghar vapasi programmes for Christians in the state. A senior BJP leader confirmed, “Amitbhai is clear that the BJP must grow. And grow on its own. We are making that attempt in every state including Punjab.”

Sources confirmed that the BJP has been in talks with some senior Congress leaders in Punjab, including former national executive committee member Jagmeet Singh Brar, who quit the party earlier this month, and even Punjab PCC chief Pratap Singh Bajwa. Meanwhile, both the BJP and the SAD continue to eye each other’s mlas and several independents. But all of that poaching and one-upmanship may have to wait for a while. At least till consolidation is not a doubtful question. For the BJP and the SAD, alliance partners for more than 40 years now, in Shakespearean fashion, clinging tog­ether as two spent swimmers would perhaps best serve their interests.

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