SAD is permanent ally of BJP: Sukhbir

Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal today said his party remained a permanent partner of the BJP and the NDA.

"The SAD is a permanent ally of the BJP and the NDA," Badal told reporters after Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah's meeting here with top Akali Dal leaders, including party's patriarch Parkash Singh Badal.

He said SAD members discussed strategy for the upcoming 2019 parliamentary polls with Shah.

The SAD is a key partner in the BJP-lead National Democratic Alliance and the two parties shared power in Punjab before the Congress won the February 2017 assembly elections.

Sukhbir Singh Badal appealed to the NDA allies to come together to contest the next year's elections.

"The time has come for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls... all NDA allies must come together to fight the opposition," he said.

Shah tweeted after the meeting, "It is always a delight to meet Badal Sahab. Met Shri Parkash Singh Badal ji and Sukhbir at his home in Chandigarh."