BJP's oldest ally Shiromani Akali Dal quits NDA over Farm Bills

Shiromani Akali Dal, BJP's key ally in Punjab, on Saturday announced it was parting ways with the National Democratic Alliance, following differences over the farm sector reforms unveiled by the Modi government.

The decision to quit the NDA was taken at a meeting of the core committee of the Akali Dal in Chandigarh on Saturday.

"Today we have decided to part ways with the NDA," Akali Dal President and former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said.

Badal accused the central government of completely ignoring the sentiments of farmers and pushing the agriculture sector bills with force in Parliament.

"What happened in the Rajya Sabha everybody knows that.. Although we were part of the government, but Harsimrat Kaur Badal quit from the post of minister against the bills," Badal said.

Akali Dal was under immense pressure from political rivals in Punjab to part ways with the BJP with Chief Minister Amarinder Singh taunting the Badal of keeping their ties with the NDA intact despite pulling out of the Modi government.

Initially, the Akali Dal had backed supported the farm sector reforms but had to make a U-turn on the issue as anger among the farmers grew in the state.

The Akali Dal was the BJP's second oldest ally after Shiv Sena.

Akali Dal's ties with the BJP date back to 1996 when the parties had struck a pre-poll alliance ahead of the 1997 Punjab assembly elections which brought them to power.

Shiv Sena, which had been an ally of the BJP since 1984, parted ways with the BJP after the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections.