CHANDIGARH: Union home minister Amit Shah on Thursday predicted an NDA govt in Punjab in 2027, reigniting speculation about a reunion between former allies BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).“Punjab ki janta ne is baar tai kar liy hai, is baar vahan NDA ki sarkar hone wali hai (People of Punjab have decided that there is going to be an NDA govt there this time),” Shah said at an event in New Delhi, referring to his Oct 20 visit to the state-his second in three weeks-and asserting that the governing AAP will be wiped out in the 2027 assembly election.Shah’s remarks are being viewed in political circles as signaling an imminent reunion of the old allies, departing from BJP’s earlier stance that it would contest all 117 assembly seats in the state alone.However, Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon denied any such move. “No. We call a BJP govt an NDA govt, just like at the Centre. We have nothing on an alliance as of now. We are prepared for all 117 seats and will contest on all of them,” he told TOI.Despite Dhillon’s denial, a senior Punjab BJP functionary felt that the signal was clear without naming anyone, adding that “both parties should have announced an alliance early, as it is already late.Any formal announcement, the functionary said, would have to be made by BJP national president Nitin Nabin.
