Shiromani Akali Dal Decided To Support BJP in Delhi Assembly Polls: JP Nadda

BJP president JP Nadda on Wednesday said that ally Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which had decided not to contest the Delhi Assembly elections over differences with the saffron party, will support his party in the elections.

At a joint press conference with Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Badal, Nadda hailed the party as an old and strong ally, while Badal asserted that their alliance is not merely about politics but also about a bond of sentiments. Akali Dal's decision to not contest the polls had triggered concerns in the BJP that it may alienate a section of Sikh voters.

Nadda held a long meeting with Badal before addressing the joint press conference. 

“The SAD-BJP alliance is not just a political alliance. It is bound by emotions, for peace, the future, and interests of Punjab and the country. There were some misunderstandings that have been sorted out,” Badal said the a press conference.

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“We never broke the alliance. We just decided to contest the election separately. We've been supporting the CAA from the beginning. We went to Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah for granting citizenship for Sikhs who have been subjected to persecution in Pakistan and Afghanistan,” said Badal.

The Akali Dal had announced on Monday that it would not contest the Delhi polls next month after it was asked by the Bharatiya Janata Party to change its stand on the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The SAD was of the view that Muslims cannot be left out of the CAA.

Taking a dig at SAD chief Sukhbir Badal and Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal over their alleged "conflicting" statements on CAA, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said the Akalis did not have a "principled" stand on the major issue of national importance.

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SAD leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa's claim that the party had been "under pressure" to review its stand on the CAA was "ludicrous", to say the least, considering the discordant notes the Akalis had been striking on the issue for the past several days, he said. 

(With PTI inputs)