Amid growing political speculation over a possible pact between the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the BJP ahead of the next Punjab Assembly elections, a senior BJP leader has credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi with weakening feudal or family-based political parties across the country.
Punjab BJP vice-president Subhash Sharma, in a message posted on social media, said the biggest achievement of PM Modi had been to cut such parties to size, referring to the Badals and Chautalas
Sharma’s remarks are significant as they come at a time when political circles in Punjab have been rife with speculation about a possible renewal of the SAD-BJP alliance. While neither party has formally announced any decision on a fresh alliance, SAD leaders have been raising hopes of pact amid preparations for the next electoral battle
Without directly referring to the alliance speculation, Sharma’s comments appeared to underline the BJP’s changed political positioning towards parties that have traditionally been its allies.
“Family-based parties have damaged the country,” Sharma said, praising the PM for taking on such political formations. He cited the Badals and Chautalas as examples of parties dominated by political families and said bringing such parties down from their earlier position of influence was among Modi’s major political achievements.
Sharma said that during his recent visit to the US in connection with a programme involving RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, he met several Punjabis settled abroad. According to Sharma, many of them expressed appreciation for Modi’s political approach towards ending influence of family-based parties.
He claimed that members of the Punjabi diaspora had particularly praised PM Modi for reducing the influence of political families, again referring to the Badals and Chautalas.
The BJP described the Congress as another family-based political party and alleged that the Gandhi family had exercised control over the party since the Independence.
The remarks come against the backdrop of the BJP’s continuing effort to expand its independent political footprint in Punjab. The party, which for decades contested Assembly elections in alliance with the SAD, has been attempting to establish itself as a stronger standalone political force in the state.
Sharma’s attack on family-dominated parties could therefore be seen as a reaffirmation of that strategy, even as speculation about a possible SAD-BJP rapprochement continues to generate discussion within Punjab’s political circles.
The comments also put the Badal family, which has dominated the SAD for decades, in an uncomfortable spotlight.
Sharma’s message adds another layer to the political uncertainty to proposed alliance possibilities between BJP and SAD ahead of assembly elections in the state.