Working up its strategy for the upcoming Punjab assembly polls, the top leadership of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has directed party cadres in the Malwa belt to focus on 27 assembly seats falling under the Bathinda, Ferozepur and Faridkot parliamentary constituencies, along with the three seats in Barnala district.
Terming these areas the party’s traditional strongholds, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal has asked local cadres to maximise electoral gains, encouraged by the response to rallies and meetings organised by the party in recent months.
The party is also tapping young blood by attaching youth wing leaders with halqa in-charges to strengthen its organisation ahead of the polls. Offering support to Sukhbir, his wife and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal has been actively participating in meetings with halqa in-charges while also overseeing the day-to-day affairs of the women’s wing.
The party’s confidence has also been boosted by its performance in the recent civic body elections, where it won 243 wards and secured absolute majorities in 11 municipal bodies.
“These three parliamentary constituencies have always been our stronghold and our organisation is strong there as well. We do not want to take any chances and aim to register victory in the maximum possible constituencies,” said party vice-president Daljit Singh Cheema, adding that success in these areas would give the party a formidable head start in the state polls.
According to a senior party leader, around 75 assembly seats across Punjab, spanning both urban and rural areas, are under the party’s close watch. “The party feels these seats can make a decisive difference in the electoral battle,” the leader said on condition of anonymity.
After being reduced to just three seats in the 117-member legislative assembly in the 2022 elections, SAD is battling an existential crisis and making determined efforts to stage a political revival. The party, which ruled Punjab for two consecutive terms between 2007 and 2017 in alliance with the BJP, had won 15 seats in the 2017 assembly elections.
The Akali Dal has also begun reworking its electoral strategy with a renewed focus on urban constituencies after Union home minister Amit Shah, on two occasions within three months, stated that the BJP would contest the 2027 Punjab assembly elections independently.
The assembly segments under the Bathinda parliamentary constituency are Rampura Phul, Bhucho Mandi (SC), Bathinda Urban, Bathinda Rural (SC), Talwandi Sabo, Maur, Mansa, Sardulgarh and Budhlada (SC).
Faridkot parliamentary constituency comprises Kotkapura, Jaitu, Moga, Baghapurana, Nihal Singh Wala, Dharamkot, Faridkot and Gidderbaha, besides Rampura Phul.
The Ferozepur parliamentary constituency includes Ferozepur City, Ferozepur Rural and Guru Har Sahai in Ferozepur district; Jalalabad, Fazilka, Abohar and Balluana in Fazilka district; and Malout and Muktsar in Muktsar district. Barnala district has three assembly constituencies — Bhadaur, Barnala and Mehal Kalan.
