:dateline:Various Sikh organizations based in Delhi and Punjab were seen taking keen interest in the developments taking place in relation to the SAD-BJP alliance in the upcoming Delhi Assembly Elections.
The Sikh community has continued to criticize ties between the two organizations as there are supposed to be no ideological similarities. �However, despite reaction from Sikhs, the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) and BJP–a right wing Hindutva organization–are set to share at least four seats in Delhi Assembly elections which are scheduled to take place in December.
Just a few days ago, the Delhi unit of SAD (Badal) announced that the party would contest the elections on its own because BJP had refused to give tickets to Badal associates. �But soon after, party sources have clarified that the decision to contest polls alone was yet to be finalized. Finally, top brass of both the parties intervened into the matter and the issue seems to have been resolved.
It has been learnt that a high level meeting was held between both the parties to negotiate on the issue in which BJP President Rajnath Singh, senior leader Lal Krishan Advani, Arun Jaitly and Sushma Sawraj were present. �It was decided that SAD would be able field its candidates on Harinagar, Shahdara, Rajouri Garden and Kalkaji but not from the Tilak Vihar constituency.
The Tilak Nagar is an important�constituency for the Sikhs as it hosts the “Widow Colony,” the name given to the neighborhood where Sikh widows of the 1984 Genocide were settled after the Government sponsored massacre. �Sikhs in Tilak Nagar have continued to face issues from local authorities and it was hoped that if Akalis come into power, they could help resolve some of the issues. �However, Sikh24 has learned from trusted sources that BJP pressured SAD to not venture into Tilak Vihar. �More details about this pact will be shared shortly.
It is notable that SAD (B) and the BJP had a similar seat sharing arrangement in the 2008 elections. SAD (B) contested four seats–Rajouri Garden, Shahdra, Jangpura and Adarsh Nagar–but lost all. The total seats in the Delhi assembly are 70.
SAD (B) received a shot in the arm after its success in the 2012 municipal elections, where six of its seven candidates were elected, and then in Delhi during the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) elections in January of this year, where its candidates won 37 of the 46 seats.
Buoyed, it insisted on fielding its own candidates in the assembly polls from Tilak Nagar, Hari Nagar and Rajouri Garden, three Sikh-dominated seats in west Delhi. �The BJP, however, refused to give away Tilak Nagar and Hari Nagar initially–two of its strongholds. In the end, it had to let go of Hari Nagar.
As many know, BJP is heavily influenced by the Hindu fascist organization, RSS which works actively against Sikh interests and on occasion commits terrorist acts. Moreover, SAD (B) Superemo Parkash Badal has been, from the beginning, accommodating anti-Sikh stands taken by the BJP and never put any conditions on BJP in favour of Punjab or Sikhs. �This time, also, Badal did not dare to take any firm stand in the Delhi polls.
