SAD Student Wing Allies With ABVP at Panjab University

The Student Organisation of India (SOI), the student wing of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), announced unconditional support for the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) presidential candidate, Ankit Bidhan, for the Panjab University Campus Students' Council elections. The alliance was formed after the SOI presidential candidate's nomination papers were rejected shortly before Monday's polling.

Representatives from both organizations met at Shri Gurudwara Sahib on the university campus to signal student unity. While the agreement is limited to the university polls, the move is viewed as a significant signal ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections. It suggests a potential revival of the partnership between the SAD and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which ended in 2020 over the central government's farm laws.

Senior Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia supported the notion of a reunion, stating that the public desires the two parties to come together to maintain social harmony and security in the border state of Punjab.