Jalandhar bypoll: BJP underlines links with Parkash Singh Badal

Badal's warm ties with Narendra Modi, BJP outreach to Sikhs, all expected to come in handy as party hopes to make an impact in its solo Punjab run

Amit Shah Jalandhar bypoll Parkash Singh Badal

Union Home Minister Amit Shah pays tributes to Parkash Singh Badal at Sri Mukatsar Sahib on Thursday. (Express Photo by Gurmeet Singh)

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Locked in a contest with the Akali Dal among other parties in the Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll, the BJP has been underlining its lingering connection with the late Parkash Singh Badal, and particularly the warm ties Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared with the Akali leader.

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew down to Chandigarh to pay his last respects to Badal, and BJP national president J P Nadda was present for the cremation, on Thursday, Union Home Minister attended the post-death ‘Amrit Das’ ceremony held at Badal village in Muktsar district. In a message, Shah said Badal’s death was “a loss to the entire country”, and had left a void which would not be filled for a long time. “Bhaichare ka sardar bhi chala gaya (We have lost the greatest proponent of brotherhood),” Shah said.

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Ahead of the Jalandhar bypoll, which would be the first barometer of the traction the BJP has achieved in its solo Punjab run, has also consistently signalled itself as a party that subscribes to Badal’s brand of politics which made him the respected figure he was across party lines – touching on communal harmony, welfare schemes for different sections of society, and batting for “Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiyat”.

भारतीय राजनीति के दिग्गज नेता स्वर्गीय प्रकाश सिंह बादल जी की अंतिम अरदास पर उन्हें श्रद्धांजलि दी।
ਭਾਰਤੀ ਸਿਆਸਤ ਦੇ ਉੱਘੇ ਆਗੂ ਸ੍ਵਰ੍ਗੀਯ ਸ੍ਰ ਪ੍ਰਕਾਸ਼ ਸਿੰਘ ਬਾਦਲ ਜੀ ਨੂੰ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦੀ ਅੰਤਿਮ ਅਰਦਾਸ ਮੌਕੇ ਸ਼ਰਧਾਂਜਲੀ ਭੇਟ ਕੀਤੀ। https://t.co/zFApQaaYwV

— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 4, 2023

In his message Thursday too, Shah invoked Badal’s style of working and said only a figure like him could have not made a single enemy in 70 years of public life. He also hinted that the BJP-Akali Dal alliance rested to a large extent on Badal’s stature, goodwill with the Centre and efforts at maintaining ties.

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Since the Akali Dal and BJP broke ties over the contentious farm laws – which were later revoked – the BJP has concentrated its efforts on strengthening the party structure.

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The push to underline the fondness for Badal supplements other gestures by the BJP, spearheaded by Modi himself, towards the Sikhs – such as hosting Sikh intellectuals last year; releasing a commemorative coin and a postage stamp to mark 400th birth anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur last year; and honouring US-based NRI Darshan Singh Dhaliwal, who once faced government action over arranging community kitchens for farm law protesters.

The BJP has also managed to win over several big names across communities to its side, including Amarinder Singh, Manpreet Badal, Rana Gurmit Sodhi, former Punjab Congress chief chief Sunil Jakhar and Raj Kumar Verka (a Dalit leader).

The BJP nominee for the Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat (SC reserved), Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal, is a former Akali Dal leader.