Chandigarh, March 20 -- The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has begun reworking its electoral strategy with a renewed focus on urban constituencies after Union home minister Amit Shah announced on March 14 rally at Moga that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would contest the 2027 Punjab assembly elections independently. The decision has left the SAD, led by Sukhbir Singh Badal, at a critical juncture, especially as sections within its cadre had been hopeful of reviving the alliance to improve electoral prospects in the polls scheduled for January 2027. Shah's announcement is the clearest assertion yet by the saffron party's top leadership, debunking the confusion in its Punjab ranks on re-stitching an alliance with its one-time senior partner in state power politics. The BJP had been a junior partner of the SAD in Punjab since the two parties forged a pre-election alliance in 1996. Both contested four assembly polls and all Lok Sabha polls together until 2021 when their long-standing pact ruptured over the Akali Dal's opposition to the now-repealed three farm laws enacted by the BJP-led Union government in which Akalis were a coalition partner. The two parties contested the 2022 assembly polls separately and ended up with their all-time low representation in the 117-member House. While the SAD won three seats, the BJP managed only two. With the BJP traditionally commanding influence in urban areas, SAD is now attempting to make inroads into more than two-dozen such seats across the state. SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema said the party would soon unveil a detailed plan, asserting that the SAD has a capable cadre base in these constituencies despite not having prioritised them earlier. The shift comes as the SAD grapples with a prolonged decline. The party secured just three seats in the 2022 assembly elections, following a poor showing in 2017, raising concerns about its political relevance. Once a dominant force, SAD had contested elections in alliance with the BJP from 1997 to 2017, with the latter fielding candidates in 23 seats and the SAD contesting the rest. The partnership, which combined SAD's rural Sikh support with BJP's urban Hindu base, delivered victory in three out of four elections during that period. The alliance ended in 2020 over disagreements on the now-repealed farm laws, fundamentally altering Punjab's political landscape. Even as the BJP gears up for a solo campaign, SAD has already intensified its outreach. Sukhbir has addressed 18 rallies, largely in rural constituencies across Majha, Doaba and Malwa, with over 20 more planned. His campaign has centred on projecting the SAD as a "tried and trusted" party, highlighting its governance record during 2007-2017 when he served as deputy chief minister under his father, Parkash Singh Badal. However, political observers caution that large rallies may not translate into electoral gains. Jagrup Singh Sekhon, former head of the political science department at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, said the party must reconnect directly with voters. "The core base that has eroded will return or not remains uncertain," he said. SAD leaders maintain that the party's immediate priority is preserving its identity. Senior party leader Maheshinder Singh Grewal said the SAD continues to play a significant opposition role, while also stressing its independence in decision-making, in contrast to rivals AAP and Congress allegedly influenced by leadership in Delhi. The party's traditional support base among Sikh voters and the agrarian community has weakened significantly, with many shifting to the AAP in 2022. Internal challenges have compounded the situation, including a split in leadership last year with the formation of Shiromani Akali Dal (Punar Surjit) and the emergence of new political forces such as the group linked to jailed Khadoor Sahib member of Parliament Amritpal Singh. For over two decades, the SAD and BJP functioned as complementary allies, balancing rural and urban vote banks. With that equation now broken, SAD faces the dual challenge of expanding its appeal in urban areas while rebuilding its traditional base. Amanpreet Singh Gill, a political science professor at the Khalsa College, New Delhi, said that while the SAD may have shed ideological constraints after breaking with the BJP, its performance in a direct electoral contest will be the real test....