Punjab: BJP-Akali Dal alliance talk, what is on the record and what rests on unnamed sources

Neither the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nor the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has announced an alliance for Punjab's 2027 assembly election, and the BJP's state president has said "we have nothing on an alliance as of now". But since Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on October 22 that an NDA government would come to power in the state, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal has said he is open to tie-ups, and some outlets have reported that talks are far along. Their reports disagree on the terms, and the numbers they give rest on unnamed sources.

This piece is as of 13:37 IST on Tuesday, October 27. It separates what has been said on the record from what is reported from sources.

What has been said on the record

• Shah, October 22: at an event in Delhi he said an NDA government would be in place in Punjab in 2027, and that the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) would be wiped out in the polls, The Times of India reports. He did not name the Akali Dal, it adds, a point a senior Punjab BJP functionary made to the paper while saying the political signal was clear.
• Badal, October 23: after leading a delegation to Governor Gulab Chand Kataria over the killing of activist Parvinder Singh Jhota, he told reporters: "There are many other parties besides these and those who agree with the Akali Dal's ideology and programmes; we are open (for a tie-up)." He ruled out any understanding with the Congress and AAP, which he called "the two biggest enemies of Punjab", according to The Times of India and The Economic Times.
• Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon, October 23: "We have nothing on an alliance as of now. We are prepared for all 117 seats and will contest on all of them," he told The Times of India, adding that the BJP calls its government at the Centre an NDA government and would do the same in Punjab. He repeated the position over the weekend, The Times of India reports in a later report.
• A formal announcement: the senior BJP functionary told The Times of India that any announcement would have to come from BJP national president Nitin Nabin.
• AAP's reaction: AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday that Shah "joining hands" with SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia to remove drugs from Punjab would be "the eighth wonder of the world", and that Majithia and Shah are "extremely close, just like brothers", The Times of India reports. These are his remarks, made in the context of the Jhota killing and the drug issue, and the report carries no reply from Shah or Majithia. AAP spokesperson Bikramjit Singh Passi told a television panel that both parties had lost credibility in Punjab, according to the description of an India Today video.

What is reported from sources

• The New Indian Express, October 26: says the two parties "are likely to forge an alliance", citing "sources" that internal BJP surveys show the party gains by allying with SAD rather than going alone. A "senior SAD leader", speaking anonymously, said that of the 117 seats "the BJP might contest around 55, with the remaining seats likely to be contested by the Akalis", and that seats for the Shiromani Akali Dal (Punar Surjit) could come out of the BJP's quota or be accommodated separately if that faction merges back. The paper adds that the BJP seems to have "grudgingly" accepted that it needs the Akali Dal, and calls Shah's remark "by far, the clearest indication yet".
• India Today, October 26: the description of its video says alliance talks "have reached the final stages", with a formal announcement expected soon, the BJP "likely to contest between 35 and 45 seats while the Akali Dal plays the senior partner", and the chief minister's post "a central point of negotiation". It says the BJP is seeking a larger share on the strength of an 18 per cent vote share in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls against the Akali Dal's 13 per cent. The description does not say who said this. The video itself was not watched for this piece, only its published description, in the India Today listing.

The two accounts do not agree: The New Indian Express puts the BJP at around 55 seats and says it has given up wanting to be senior partner; India Today puts it at 35 to 45 seats with SAD as senior partner while the BJP presses for more. Neither names a source, and neither is confirmed by either party on the record.

How the two parties got here

• The split: SAD ended its 24-year-old alliance with the BJP in September 2020 over the farm laws, which have since been repealed; Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Sukhbir Badal's wife, had been a Cabinet minister in the Narendra Modi government. The New Indian Express dates the exit from the National Democratic Alliance to September 26, 2020.
• 2022 results: in the 117-member assembly the BJP won two seats and SAD three, The Times of India and The Economic Times report.
• Recent contacts: The Economic Times reports that Badal met Prime Minister Modi at his office in Parliament House in August, which fuelled speculation. The New Indian Express adds that CR Patil, described as Modi's point man for the Punjab polls, has also met Badal, and that Badal recently reversed SAD's earlier opposition to delimitation and 33 per cent women's reservation.

The other Panthic talks

Separately, Waris Punjab De, led by jailed Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh, has begun fresh talks with SAD (Punar Surjit), which split from Badal's SAD in August 2025 and is led by Giani Harpreet Singh. Hindustan Times reports that Waris Punjab De wants six Punar Surjit leaders kept out of the contest, up from two, citing an Akal Takht hukamnama of December 2. Punar Surjit's Gurpartap Singh Wadala confirmed that his faction favours a Panthic alliance and is working to address the objections. The New Indian Express reports that Punar Surjit's Prem Singh Chandumajra has backed Badal's call for "Akali solidarity".

What the rivals say

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said on Monday that "the Akali Dal never speaks against the Congress, Congress never speaks against the BJP", Hindustan Times reports, and that every leader would visit Sangrur, which he called AAP's "capital". Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is due to hold a "Hisab Maango" rally in Sangrur on November 4, the same report says. These are Mann's characterisations, not findings.

Where reports differ

• BJP seat share: around 55 (The New Indian Express, from an anonymous SAD leader) against 35 to 45 (India Today video description).
• Who leads: the BJP accepting a junior role (The New Indian Express) against the chief minister's post being "a central point of negotiation" (India Today).
• Stage of talks: "likely to forge an alliance" (The New Indian Express) against "final stages" with an announcement "expected soon" (India Today), against "nothing on an alliance as of now" (Dhillon, on the record).

What is not yet known

• Whether either party will confirm talks, and who would announce an alliance.
• Seat sharing, the leadership of any alliance, and whether the Punar Surjit and Waris Punjab De factions join any Akali grouping.
• Whether the BJP's Punjab leadership, which has said for months that it is preparing to contest all 117 seats, changes that position.