Ambala (Haryana), Oct 5 (Inditop.com) It was only in May this year that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) organised a big rally in Punjab’s industrial city of Ludhiana two days before the final phase of general elections in a show of strength and solidarity of all alliance partners.
Just five months and a few hundred kilometres thence, the NDA partners have taken different directions.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani will address his first election rally for the Oct 13 assembly poll in Ambala Cantt, 45 km from Chandigarh, Monday evening.
Just hours before him, Akali Dal leader and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal will address rallies for the Akali Dal-Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) candidate in the adjoining Ambala city.
Despite running an Akali Dal-BJP alliance government in neighbouring Punjab, Advani and Badal will be seeking support for their respective parties’ candidates. Both parties do not have an electoral understanding in Haryana.
The common link between the BJP and the Akali Dal in Haryana, the INLD, led by former chief minister Om Prakash Chautala, too is contesting the Haryana assembly poll on its own but with support of the Akalis.
The BJP recently parted ways with the INLD in Haryana after which the INLD pulled out of the NDA also.
But senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley recently said that the Akali Dal was still part of the NDA.
“Sometimes the political adjustment is not there. Such situation has arisen (with the BJP) earlier in state-level alliances. We are together with the Akali Dal in Punjab and Delhi,” Jaitley said.
