Ahead of the next Vidhan Sabha elections, the growing proximity between three prominent deras of Punjab and the BJP has become a cause of concern for the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s cryptic statement against the Dera Beas head on Tuesday morning has also not helped the party much. In his typical satirist style, Mann said, “Kal bann jaan, bhavein ajj bann jaan, adaltan da uthe rabb rakha jithe mulakaati his judge bann jaan “ (God save those courts where those coming to visit the incarcerated become judges). This was in clear reference to the statement given by Dera Beas head Gurinder Singh Dhillon in favour of Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia, saying that he did not believe the leader was guilty of the crimes he was accused of.In a state where “dera politics” decides many a political fortune, the statement by the CM has not been backed by most others in his party. Sources in the ruling party have told The Tribune that AAP political strategists were apprehensive regarding the growing proximity between the dera and the BJP, which is trying to make political inroads in the state. Till a year ago, before the Delhi Assembly poll, the dera management held some sway in the AAP government.The Radha Soami Satsang Beas, or Dera Beas, has a massive following among different religions and castes across North India, particularly in the Majha area. Though the dera maintains a policy of political neutrality, a statement questioning the dera head may have its own dynamics among its highly organised follower base. Little wonder then that the CM’s statement has found little resonance with others in his party, while his political detractors have castigated the CM for casting aspersions on the religious leader.Another influential dera of the Ravidassia community in the Doaba — Dera Sachkhand Ballan, which though officially claims to be politically non-partisan — is being wooed by the BJP after Padma Shri was awarded to its head Sant Niranjan Dass and Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the place on Sunday. Apprehensive of the growing relations between the two, the AAP government, too, stepped up its efforts to keep the dera management in good humour by allocating land for Guru Ravidas Bani Study Centre. Just last month, another prominent religious place in Mazara Nau Abad near Banga (Doaba) almost threatened the ruling party’s leaders after the CM had claimed on January 14 that a SIT constituted by the police to investigate the missing “saroops” claimed to have found 139 unaccounted for saroops at the Rasokhana Shri Nabh Kanwal Raja Sahib. This, then forced the state government to take a U-turn.The Dera Sacha Sauda, another prominent dera though located in Sirsa but having a massive following in the Malwa region already enjoys a good rapport with the BJP. For years, politicians have used deras to reach out to their followers who have a tendency to vote en bloc. As of now, the loosening political ties between the ruling party and these deras are being keenly observed by the Opposition, even as the ruling party is “examining the issue” and trying to firm up its politics.