Haryana Elections: SAD to go solo after its MLA gets inducted in BJP

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) will be contesting the upcoming assembly polls in Haryana alone. This comes after the induction of SAD’s lone MLA Balkaur Singh into the BJP party. SAD has condemned this move by BJP and said that it is against the principle of 'coalition dharma'. In a statement issued after the core committee meeting under the leadership of party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, the SAD has said that BJP has not only betrayed them but also backtracked from the commitments that it had made about the Haryana assembly elections. The panel said the induction of Kalanwali MLA Balkaur Singh into the BJP was 'undesirable', not 'expected' from an old ally. 

SAD calls out BJP for backtracking from their promise 

The panel has said that, "It is condemnable that the BJP has chosen to ignore the steadfast support of the SAD and decided to induct an Akali MLA into its fold." Additionally, they said that SAD has always stood through thick and thin with the BJP in the national interest. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had even held a press conference on the eve of the Lok Sabha elections and announced that the BJP and the SAD would contest the assembly elections jointly. Claiming that, even though it was BJP’s turn to support SAD, they backed out and went to an extent where they made a SAD MLA join BJP. The spokesperson of SAD has said that SAD will be pulling out of an alliance with BJP as a part of the protest. Dr. Daljit Singh Cheema said, "To protest this unethical step of making our MLA join their party at a time when we were in talks with them over seat-sharing, we have called off the alliance with them in Haryana."

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SAD reiterates commitment to serve people 

The core committee said the SAD had always stood for peace and communal harmony besides safeguarding the rights of minority communities. "We will continue to do so and will be the voice of all communities in the Haryana assembly," it said while asking the party rank and file to gear up for the assembly elections. The panel said the party would soon come out with a list of candidates and assign duties to leaders and workers to run an energetic and result-oriented campaign in Haryana. "The party has a history of fighting against all wrongs in society and follows the principle of 'sarbat da bhala' (welfare of all) and will continue to do so," it added. 

(With PTI Inputs)

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