Akali Dal and BSP form alliance ahead of Punjab Assembly elections in 2022

In preparation of the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have decided to sign an electoral alliance. Sukhbir Singh Badal, the leader of the SAD, said on Saturday that his party will fight in the next Punjab elections in coalition with Mayawati's BSP.

Satish Chandra Mishra said that both parties will work to form the state's next administration under Sukhbir Singh Badal's leadership.

Sukhbir Singh Badal spoke at a press conference and remarked, "It's a new day in Punjab politics. The Shiromani Akali Dal and the Bahujan Samaj Party will fight the 2022 Punjab state polls and future elections together."

BSP leader Mayawati took to Twitter and said, "The tie-up between SAD and BSP in Punjab is a significant move. This will start a new chapter for the progress of people in the state. I congratulate people for this historic move."

The Sukhbir Singh Badal-led party hopes to fill the void left by its divorce with the BJP in September last year with this new alliance. The BSP will run for the seats that were previously allotted to the BJP.

There are 117 seats in the state assembly. The BSP will be given 20 seats, while the Akali Dal will compete 97.

Kartarpur Sahib in Jalandhar, Jalandhar-West, Jalandhar-North, Phagwara, Hoshiarpur Urban, Dasuya, Chamkaur Sahib in Rupnagar district, BassiPathana, Sujanpur in Pathankot, Mohali, Amritsar North, and Amritsar Central are among the seats that the BSP will fight.

The Akali Dal and the BSP are reuniting 27 years after their alliance won 11 of Punjab's 13 seats in the 1996 Lok Sabha elections. The BSP, led by Mayawati, had then won all three seats it had fought, while the Akali Dal had won eight of the ten seats it had contested for.

Sukhbir Singh Badal, who described the coalition as historic, said it was not confined to the 2022 assembly elections and will continue after that. He said that the SAD and the BSP have the same philosophy and have always strived to help farmers, the poor, and khet mazdoor.