Chandigarh, August 22, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab on Saturday stepped up its attack on the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) over speculation about a possible alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alleging that the discussion was being deliberately fuelled to provide Akali leader Sukhbir Singh Badal with a political escape route.
AAP Punjab Media In-charge Baltej Pannu said the prominence being given to Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Bikram Singh Majithia in the alliance debate suggested that Sukhbir Badal was seeking to distance himself from Punjab politics and hand over the party’s reins to the two leaders.
“It appears as if Sukhbir Singh Badal is trying to run away from Punjab and hand over the reins of the Akali Dal to Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Bikram Singh Majithia,” Pannu said in a video message.
He alleged that the Akali leadership could not use political realignment to avoid questions surrounding the 2015 incidents of sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib and the subsequent police firing on protesters.
Pannu said the people of Punjab had not forgotten the incidents of Beadbi or the crackdown on those holding peaceful protests. He referred to the deaths of two people in police firing and said the issue continued to carry emotional and political significance in the state.
“Sukhbir Singh Badal may want to leave Punjab to escape these questions, but Punjab will not allow him to run away from accountability,” he said.
Pannu also targeted Bikram Singh Majithia, alleging that the people of Punjab remained aware of the record of the previous Akali-BJP governments. He said a renewed alliance could not provide political protection against accountability.
“The people remember the Beadbi incidents, the repression of peaceful protesters and the failures of the previous Akali-BJP governments,” Pannu said.
AAP Punjab spokesperson Neel Garg separately accused the Akali Dal and BJP of creating hype around a possible alliance to gauge and influence public sentiment. He claimed that Punjabis were aware of what he described as the “anti-Punjab mindset” of both parties.
Garg criticised the 2007-2017 Akali-BJP governments, alleging that Punjab was left with problems including drugs, mafia networks and deterioration in governance. He specifically referred to the drug crisis and alleged growth of land, sand and transport mafias during that period.
He also cited previous remarks by BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu concerning the return of drugs to Punjab, arguing that they highlighted what he described as contradictions in the BJP’s position.
Garg said Punjab was no longer interested in what he called failed political alliances and power-sharing arrangements.
“The people want politics of work and development, politics that creates jobs for youth, ensures fair returns for farmers, takes canal water to fields, provides quality schools for children and guarantees good healthcare,” he said.
The AAP leaders’ remarks come amid speculation over a possible rapprochement between the BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections. No formal alliance announcement was cited in the statement.
The allegations made by the AAP leaders are political claims and could not be independently established from the material available.
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