BJP won't be able to form govt: Shiromani Akali Dal chief Badal

Chandigarh, May 13 (PTI) Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal claimed on Monday that the BJP will not be able to form the next government at the Centre, saying the saffron party is getting "wiped out" in north India, Maharashtra and Bihar.

He also claimed that regional parties would emerge stronger from the evolving scenario.

"I am seeing that the BJP is not able to form the government," Badal said while talking to reporters at Bathinda. He claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is "crashing" in north India and has been "wiped out" in Maharashtra and Bihar.

"The prime minister's speeches also indicate that the party is in panic mode. He is now attacking a particular community openly and even saying mangalsutras will be taken away (from women) and given to others.

"This never happened in the last 70 years and will never happen," the former deputy chief minister of Punjab asserted, adding that in the new scenario, regional parties would emerge stronger.

The SAD was earlier part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), but walked out of the coalition in 2020 over the three central farm laws that have since been repealed.

To a question on the mood of the people in Punjab, Badal said, "Punjabis feel betrayed by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its leadership. They have lost all hope on Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann." He said people have also realised that the AAP and the Congress are "two sides of the same coin" and that both parties are playing a "friendly match" between them as they are aligned with each other at the national level.

Badal claimed that the SAD will emerge as the strongest party in Punjab after the Lok Sabha polls.

"People feel that the SAD alone can take all communities with it and ensure all-round development as well as peace and communal harmony," he said.

He also said the party's "Punjab Bachao Yatra" is receiving an overwhelming response, with thousands of people coming out to welcome it in every constituency.

"People are showing an emotional connect with the SAD and it will be reflected in the polls. Be ready for historic results in Punjab," Badal said.

He said development is a major issue in Bathinda as the previous Congress government and the current AAP regime in the state have "discriminated" against the constituency.

"People have witnessed how the face of the constituency was changed with an AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences), a central university, a refinery, a cancer hospital and an airport, among other things, established here during the SAD regime. They want to return to the days of development and will ensure Harsimrat Badal's victory by 1.5 to 2 lakh votes," Badal said.

The SAD chief's wife, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, is contesting the polls from Bathinda.

Later, Badal appealed to Punjabis not to trust turncoats as they had betrayed their mother parties. "These leaders have already sold their conscience and cannot be expected to do anything for you," he said.

The SAD president was electioneering in favour of senior leader N K Sharma in the Patiala Lok Sabha segment.

"All three leaders from the BJP, Congress and AAP have nothing to show by way of performance. Two of them -- Preneet Kaur and Dharamvira Gandhi -- have betrayed their mother parties. Such leaders will betray you again and should be rejected at the hustings this time," Badal said. PTI CHS RC