Conflicting Signals From BJP: Jakhar As Punjab Unit Chief And Alliance With Akalis?

Sunil Jakhar, a former Congressman and veteran leader, was appointed as the president of the Bharatiya Janata Party's Punjab unit. He had shifted to the BJP from the Congress last year.

He replaced Ashwani Sharma, who was one of the two BJP leaders that held out in the members standing out in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) wave of 2022, winning the Pathankot seat in the process.

Although it was expected that Jakhar would be given a prominent position, his elevation as the Punjab BJP president has caused several issues that the party would have preferred to avoid.

Discontent within the BJP's established rank and file has already surfaced. Arun Narang, a former Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) in Punjab, resigned from all party positions, expressing disappointment over Sunil Jakhar's appointment.

His charge has been rather blunt and indicative of the level of demotivation within the rank and file of BJP’s old timers: "The BJP's rank and file in Punjab faced the brunt during the farm protests against three farm bills, but the party failed to acknowledge their contributions and instead handed over the leadership of the state unit to a defector," Narang stated to the media.

The BJP has been inducting a large number of former Congress members and Akalis from Shiromani Akali Dal (B) (SAD-B), and giving them positions in the party at the expense of the loyal longstanding members; this has naturally caused resentment in the party cadre.

Jakhar's promotion, despite being a dynast, contradicts the party's claim to fight against dynasty politics. However, the eagerness to pursue expansion in Punjab after decades of status quo outweighed this disappointment.

This was evident on the ground as well. In the Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypolls, the BJP secured more votes than the SAD-B and came in third. Iqbal Inder Singh Atwal, even as an Akali member, was seen as a potential force for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections after the bypolls.

Leaders like Sunil Jakhar have only recently been given positions, although it was expected that he would aggressively target the AAP and Congress based on his credentials as a strong opposition leader.

A bigger sore point for the BJP cadre however, is the near-finality of a re-alignment with the SAD-B that is being reported in the media. If indeed the BJP was going to re-align itself with the Akalis, why elevate Sunil Jakhar, who has been a long standing opponent of Akali politics in Punjab?

This question has led to various explanations, though many of them reflect poorly on the BJP.

If it was a matter of electoral calculations, then the alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party should have placed the SAD-B in a respectable position during the Assembly polls and the Jalandhar by-poll.

If it was about Hindu-Sikh unity votes, then frankly, the AAP has a stronger claim in that regard.

A new theory emerging suggests that the BJP wants to prevent the AAP from sweeping all the Lok Sabha seats in Punjab. However, this assumption is problematic because the Mann government has consistently been losing ground, except for occasional moments of popularity like the gurbani kirtan issue.

The BJP leadership will undoubtedly struggle to justify this decision to its cadre, who felt liberated for the first time in decades.

The party has not forgotten its past experiences with the SAD-B, whether it was being hindered in urban centers or not even being considered for the position of deputy Chief Minister in the state. This was even publicly acknowledged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an election rally in 2022.

The Akalis of course hope to gain from the tie up with BJP. Realizing that the ground is slipping away faster than anticipated, the party has been sending feelers for almost a year now.

The passing of Parkash Singh Badal was used as an occasion to express ‘badde Badal sahab’s last wish’ of an alliance in Punjab.

If rumours have it, the BJP also had a faction that was continually lobbying for this alliance, but at an equal footing.

Indeed, current discussions reportedly revolve around a seat-sharing ratio of 55:45 between the SAD-B and BJP. However, considering how the BSP became practically irrelevant in its alliance with the SAD-B, the BJP leadership needs to carefully consider its participation.

The past inclusion of prominent figures like Captain Amarinder Singh, who has always been against Akali politics, would also be questioned in such a scenario.

Despite repeated clarifications by prominent Cabinet Ministers like Hardeep Singh Puri, if this alliance still materializes, it will certainly be seen as an unpopular move within the party cadre.

Considering the circumstances thus, it is difficult to comprehend the significance of Sunil Jakhar's promotion.

Unless the BJP clearly states its intention to go solo and fight hard on the ground, such promotions of prominent political figures within the party seem pointless.

The BJP should carefully evaluate whether Jakhar's elevation genuinely benefits the party and address its inconsistencies in Punjab.