A final call on the much-anticipated alliance between former National Democratic Alliance partners BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal is expected around Diwali, with the hints of a countdown coming from none other than Union Home Minister Amit Shah. By backing the idea of an NDA government in Punjab for the second time in nine days, the BJP’s lead strategist has raised the stakes for all sides.The first time he said Punjab would have an NDA government was on October 24 at a Delhi event to launch Yamuna rejuvenation projects. He repeated it yesterday while addressing a Chandigarh Administration function. The latest remark was particularly significant as Shah referred to an “NDA government in Punjab” in the opening lines of his speech in Chandigarh.A senior BJP leader, when asked today whether an alliance was in the works, said, “There are positive signs.” He declined to elaborate further.Meanwhile, all eyes will be on the reception of BJP vice-president Manpreet Singh Badal’s daughter Rhea with Congress veteran Karan Singh’s grandson RK Martand Singh in New Delhi on Tuesday. To be hosted at the residence of former Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh’s daughter Jai Inder Kaur, the event has among its top invitees Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Shah, senior Punjab BJP leaders, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and his wife and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal.“Tomorrow’s ceremony will be important as PM Modi, HM Shah and the top Akali Dal leadership will cross paths after long and may find the time to engage on matters agitating everyone’s mind,” an SAD leader told The Tribune.A BJP source said the party had drawn up a list of potentially winnable seats along with vote share of the 2022 Assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The data indicated that if both the BJP and the SAD contested together, they could become a force multiplier in Punjab. In the absence of an alliance, surveys suggested that AAP may stay ahead, followed by the Congress, with the BJP and Akali Dal trailing behind, the source said.A lot of data-crunching on the subject is being done under the supervision of CR Patil, BJP’s micro-manager for Punjab elections who has commissioned a booth-level analysis across the state and has been looking at BJP and SAD prospects both if they went alone or fought together. The exercise is still in progress.“Taken collectively, the vote share of the BJP and the SAD places both parties firmly in the fight,” said a senior BJP leader.The Tribune has reliably learnt that the BJP is deeply focused on 80 of Punjab’s 117 seats to strike a hard bargain in case of alliance talks, with some leaders indicating that the party may settle for 45 to 50 seats. Officially, however, the BJP continues to maintain it would contest all 117 seats.Asked to interpret Shah’s “NDA reference”, the source said, “The only NDA constituent one knows of in Punjab’s context is the SAD, which walked out in September 2020. Some sections argue that Shah could be hinting at an alliance with SAD rebels represented by SAD (Punar Surjit), but that is unlikely as this faction is neither registered nor has an election symbol. To contest the 2027 polls, their leaders will need a symbol of either the BJP or the SAD, depending on which party they join.”