No misunderstandings, will support BJP in Delhi Assembly Elections, asserts SAD

Two days after BJP's Punjab-based ally Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) said that it will not contest the Delhi Assembly elections, the party has announced that it will support its long-term NDA ally BJP in the Delhi polls.

Making the announcement, SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said that the alliance is not just a political one but bound by emotions and interests of Punjab and the country.

"The alliance is not just a political one. It is bound by emotions, for peace, the future, and interests of Punjab and the country," he said.

Badal also added that the alliance was never broken. "We never broke the alliance. We just decided to contest the election separately. We've been supporting CAA from the beginning. We went to Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah for granting citizenship for Sikhs who have been subjected to persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan," the SAD chief said.

"There were some misunderstandings that have been sorted out," he said.

Confirming the development, BJP president JP Nadda also said that the party's alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) for the Delhi Assembly election is back on track. 

''The alliance of BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal is the oldest and strongest. I thank Akali Dal for supporting BJP in the Delhi elections,'' Nadda said.

On Monday, the BJP ally had said that it will not contest the Delhi polls after it was asked by the party to change its stand on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). During a press conference, SAD leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa had said that the BJP had earlier asked the SAD to reconsider its stand on the Act.

Asserting that Badal has clarified the party's stand on the CAA, which is to include people from all religions. Sirsa had said, "the BJP leadership wanted us to reconsider this stance. So, we decided to not fight these polls instead of changing our stand."

Delhi goes to polls on February 8. The results will be declared on February 11.