The BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) are in the final stages of talks on an alliance for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections, and both sides are eyeing a formal announcement within November, top BJP sources told The Tribune on Thursday, November 12. "We are already behind time. We are eyeing the declaration of the alliance within November. The alliance is on track. We are finalising the details," a top BJP source was quoted as saying, adding that the declaration "will not go on until December".

Source: The Tribune via Jugti

BJP and Akali Dal leaders are expected to meet in Delhi on Friday. Sources say SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal may meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah, though there is no official word on that meeting. National Times reported that Shah's reported call to Badal for a Delhi meeting has raised expectations of a possible breakthrough, with the proposed discussions expected to address the number of constituencies each party would contest and the leadership structure of the alliance.

Source: National Times

Seat-sharing is the sticking point

The two sides are discussing seat-sharing for the 117-member Assembly. According to National Times, a 70-47 formula had reportedly been considered earlier, but the BJP is seeking a larger role than it had in its previous partnership with the Akali Dal, and a 50-50 distribution has also figured in the discussions. No final agreement has been announced. The Tribune reporting noted that the BJP's seat demand is reportedly far above the 23 seats it used to contest in the old alliance, while the Punjab BJP's public line has been that it is preparing to contest all 117 seats on its own.

Badal postpones Friday's Jagir Kaur event

Badal has postponed a party event planned for Friday to induct Bibi Jagir Kaur, the former SGPC president, back into the Akali Dal, because of the Delhi visit. Jagir Kaur has said her Punar Surjit Akali Dal could not achieve its mission, and she has backed an Akali-BJP alliance. Earlier reports had suggested the announcement could come in the third week of November rather than around December 8, a date the Akali Dal was said to favour because it is the birth anniversary of Parkash Singh Badal.

Not everyone is on board

The Shiromani Akali Dal (Punar Surjit) said on Tuesday that it would not be part of any arrangement involving the Badal-led Akali Dal, a blow to the BJP's reported plan to bring all Akali factions together, The Tribune reported. The Times of India has reported that Giani Harpreet Singh has said he will oppose the BJP if it allies with the Akali Dal. National Times reported there has also been speculation that the BJP could accommodate the revived Akali faction with 10 to 12 seats from its own share, but differences within the Akali camp have made that proposal more complicated. If the two parties do reach an agreement, National Times reported, a formal announcement could be followed by a major rally featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Punjab, with Bathinda discussed as a possible venue.

How the talks reached this stage

This is the latest step in a rapprochement that has built up over recent months. Badal met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Parliament House on August 7. Efforts gained momentum after discussions at Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini's residence, and Badal later met Union Minister CR Patil, the BJP's Punjab election in-charge. On October 23-24, Badal said the Akali Dal could not ally with the Congress or the AAP but was open to parties that share its ideology, and by late October the two sides were already discussing seat-sharing. The BJP and the Akali Dal fought Punjab elections together from 1997 to 2017 and parted ways in September 2020 over the Centre's three farm laws. In the 2022 Assembly polls, contesting separately, the Akali Dal won 3 seats and the BJP 2. In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the BJP's 18.56 per cent vote share and the Akali Dal's 13.41 per cent added up to 31.97 per cent.

Earlier in this series: when alliance speculation first built up in October, Sukhbir Singh Badal kept the door open to like-minded parties while ruling out the Congress and the AAP. Read the earlier story

What happens next: the expected Delhi meetings on Friday, including the possible Badal-Shah meeting, are the next step. If seat-sharing and leadership questions are settled, the parties say through sources that a formal announcement could come within November; if they are not, both parties could still end up preparing to contest the 2027 elections separately.