SAD-BSP alliance may not deliver in Punjab Assembly polls

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) not too long ago determined to collectively contest the Punjab Assembly elections, due early subsequent yr. The announcement has set the tone for the upcoming polls, at the same time as eager political observers really feel the alliance may not yield the “desired” outcomes for both social gathering.

In Punjab, which has the very best share of Dalit inhabitants among the many States at near 32%, the BSP used the Dalit vote as a political plank for the primary time in 1992. However, since then, the social gathering has acquired a declining response in the State. In 1992, it secured over 16% votes successful 9 seats in Punjab, however that dropped to round 4% in the 2012 Assembly polls. In 2017, the BSP’s vote share share hit an extra low of 1.5%. Now, with the brand new alliance, the BSP is making an attempt to stay “relevant” in State politics.

On the opposite hand, the SAD has confronted wrath of farming neighborhood, its key assist base, which is demanding the repeal of the the three farm legal guidelines. The social gathering is hoping to neutralise its detrimental political affect by means of the newly fashioned alliance, hoping to win over the votes of the Scheduled Castes.

Parties are conscious of the significance of Dalit votes and have been making all efforts to garner it. The newly fashioned alliance is being seen as essential for the SAD, particularly after it broke its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the farm legal guidelines challenge. The SAD has already introduced it could appoint a Dalit as Deputy Chief Minister if it kinds the subsequent authorities.

Ashutosh Kumar, Professor of Political Science at Panjab University and creator of Electoral Politics in Punjab: Factors and Phases believes that the SAD-BSP alliance is nothing greater than a ballot optic, which goes to be insignificant in the upcoming polls. “This alliance is not going to have a major impact on the electoral outcome. The BSP has an almost negligible base in the State. It has been losing its support base. Its last win was one Assembly seat in 1997. SCs are divided on not only caste lines but also on religious lines. The BSP hardly has a base that the Akali Dal could capitalise on,” he advised The Puucho.

“On the other hand, the SAD is in trouble of even losing the traditional support base surrounding the 2015 Bargari sacrilege and subsequent police firing incident. Akalis supporting Jats (the farming community) is unlikely to go for Dalit candidates. Eventually, there would hardly be any significant gain for either of the two parties,” added Mr. Kumar.

On June 6, the SAD-BSP inked an electoral alliance for the 2022 Assembly polls, in which the SAD will contest 97 seats and the BSP 20 — together with eight seats in the Doaba area, seven in Malwa and 5 in Majha area of the State. There are a complete of 117 Assembly constituencies in Punjab.

Ronki Ram, Shaheed Bhaghat Singh Chair Professor of Political Science at Panjab University, identified that each the SAD and the BSP are presently entangled inside their respective adversarial political circumstances. “If the SAD is finding it difficult to maintain its heritage status — being a Panthic party of the Sikhs — for not defending the interests of the farmers of the State, who mostly happen to be Jat Sikhs, the BSP has been struggling hard at least to keep itself alive in its birth place,” he mentioned.

“Moreover, given the divisive factor of the caste divide in the state, it seems quite unlikely that the SC votes would be transferred to the SAD. Besides, the SCs of Punjab, like their counterparts in other parts of the country, are not a homogeneous category. They are sharply divided into 39 castes among themselves and got further fragmented into different religions and syncretic faiths, which metamorphosed into deras. The SAD-BSP alliance may not fetch SC votes for SAD across the socio-religious divisions within Dalits. Similarly, the BSP may also have to pay the price for signing the alliance with the SAD. Those SC affiliates of the BSP who were not comfortable with the SAD may like to dissociate themselves from the former for its political marriage of convenience,” mentioned Mr. Ram.