PUNJAB’S D-FACTOR

With the assembly election in Punjab due in February next year, political parties and pollsters, veteran leaders and wannabes are all busy sussing out possibilities. On June 12, at a political event in Chandigarh, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Badal announced the revival of his party’s old alliance with Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). The announcement came on the heels of a promise that if it were voted to power, the SAD would pick a Dalit deputy chief minister. Evidently, Badal hopes these manoeuvres will help swing the Dalit vote towards his party and make up for possible deficits on account of breaking up with the BJP.

This development has also pleased SAD hardliners. Following the parting of ways with