BJP downplays Anil Vij's remarks on Punjab loss, says it shares defeat with SAD

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], Mar 15 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday downplayed Haryana sports minister Anil Vij's comments that the saffron party would have won if contested Punjab elections alone, asserting that the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is a valued ally and that it shares the defeat in the state equally. BJP leader S. Prakash asserted that the opinion of party national president counts and that the rest's choice of words can be ignored. "Akali Dal is our decade old ally in Punjab. We have a very long standing relationship with them. We share the results of Punjab. Different people have different opinions in the party as well, but our national president has stood with Akali's and it is foremost important, all others can be ignored," Prakash told ANI. Reacting to the political debacle of SAD- BJP alliance in Punjab, Vij yesterday said that the saffron party would have won the Punjab Assembly elections if it had contested them without the coalition. "It was mainly an Akali Dal Government in Punjab, BJP was hardly 10 percent of it. So can't call it BJP's loss. I am sure if BJP had contested Punjab polls alone then today we would have a BJP Government in the state," he said. However, hailing the results BJP in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, Vij gave credit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for their landslide victory. The Congress secured 77 out of 117 seats in the Punjab Assembly polls, making a strong comeback after a decade. The AAP won 20 seats in its debut, making it the second-largest party in the Punjab Assembly. (ANI)