A hard bargain on seats and issues of chief ministership and deputy chief ministership are on the table amid indications that estranged partners — the BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal — are in talks to explore a potential pre-poll alliance in Punjab.Though the BJP’s official position, as reiterated by national general secretary (organisation) BL Santosh during his Punjab tour, is that the party will prepare for and contest all 117 seats, the BJP is learnt to have unofficially kept a list of over 55 potential seats ready for discussions should a pact with the SAD mature.These seats include 45 Assembly segments where the BJP was ahead of the SAD in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.In 2024, the BJP had an overall lead among all parties in 23 Assembly seats of Punjab; it was second in six seats and third in 16. This tally comes to 45 seats.The SAD was in overall lead among all parties on nine seats; it was second on five and third on five seats, totalling 19 seats.An internal BJP assessment about the benefits of a potential pact with the SAD (The Tribune has seen the note), says, “An analysis of the 117 Assembly constituencies in Punjab during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections shows that the BJP was leading in 23 constituencies, while the SAD was ahead in nine. If the votes polled by the BJP and the SAD are combined, the alliance would have been leading in an additional 25 constituencies. Thus, the combined BJP-SAD tally would have stood at 57 out of the 117 Assembly constituencies, indicating a significantly stronger electoral position for the two parties together.”In the 117-member Punjab Assembly, the majority mark is 59.Two other important issues likely to be discussed as part of the alliance talks between the two partners are the issues of chief ministership and deputy chief ministership.In the previous alliance, the BJP would traditionally contest 23 seats, with the chief ministership reserved for the SAD.This time, with the BJP top brass, led by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, making it clear that the party will no longer remain in a “younger brother” role in Punjab, it is likely that the question of chief ministership is left for post-election scenario discussions should the pact be sealed.Asked to comment on Santhosh’s “BJP will fight on all 117 seats” remark, a BJP leader said, “The party will obviously ensure its booth-level presence in all 117 seats and prepare to fight all seats. Santosh attacked all rival parties in Punjab, including AAP and the Congress, but did not mention the SAD.”