Rebuilding a bridge too far

The SAD needs the BJP, and vice versa, for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, but arrogance will not help their strained relationship

Earlier this week, upon his return from a two-week vacation in Europe, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal called a meeting of the most important district-level leaders of the party. While on holiday, he was amused to find frantic speculation about a reunion between the SAD and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), including the number of seats the two parties would contest in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and the Cabinet berths they would be offered in the interim.

So far, no meaningful negotiations have taken place, leaders from both the parties say. Both are wary. And the problems