# Mann says Akali Dal begging for BJP alliance to return to power 2026-08-26T20:52:17+00:00 | Politics | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann alleged on Wednesday that the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leadership is "begging" for an alliance with the BJP ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections. Speaking at a 'Lok Milni' gathering in Chawinda Devi, Mann said the people of Punjab would not forgive the BJP-Akali combine for pushing the state into the drug menace. Mann claimed his government had provided 70,000 government jobs purely on merit with "no cash, no farmaish". He also targeted the Congress, calling it a "divided house" on its "death bed" and predicted it would become politically irrelevant due to internal infighting. Mann accused both the Congress and Akali Dal of damaging Punjab since Independence. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab has repeatedly used the anti-drug and merit-based jobs narrative to distinguish itself from the SAD-BJP and Congress regimes that preceded it. The 2027 elections will test whether that message retains traction after a full term in power. Key indicators to watch are the assembly bypoll results over the next year and the formal status of any SAD-BJP seat-sharing talks before the election. ## Coverage - indiatoday.in Straight reporting of Mann's allegations with no editorial framing or independent verification. This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: 2027 Punjab Assembly elections, Bhagwant Mann, BJP, Punjab, Shiromani Akali Dal Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/mann-says-akali-dal-begging-for-bjp-alliance-to-return-to-power/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/mann-says-akali-dal-begging-for-bjp-alliance-to-return-to-power/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/